A test of the variability vs. specificity hypotheses in the retention of a motor skill.

A test of the variability vs. specificity hypotheses in the retention of a motor skill. Hum Mov Sci. 2019 Jul 01;:102432 Authors: Ranganathan R Abstract The variability of practice hypothesis suggests that practicing with task variations enhances motor learning (Schmidt, 1975). However, in tasks with only a single criterion goal to be learned, the evidence that variable practice enhances retention of this criterion task compared to constant practice (i.e. practicing without task variations) is somewhat mixed. We seek to address this question in a registered report by pre-registering the hypothesis, using a larger sample size, and using a Bayesian approach to directly quantify the evidence for the hypothesis (instead of conventional null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) using p-values). The proposed study is based on a prior study from Shea and Kohl (1990) examining this issue. Participants will learn a bimanual shuffleboard task where the goal is to slide a virtual puck towards a target. This task requires participants to release the puck at a specified speed consistently to hit the target. Two groups of participants will be tested - the constant group will practice with a specific criterion target location (which requires no variation in the puck speed), whereas the variable group will practice the criterion target location along with 4 additional target locations. Retention and transfer tests will be conducted after a 24-h pe...
Source: Human Movement Science - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Hum Mov Sci Source Type: research