Learning benefits of self-controlled knowledge of results in 10-year-old children

Self-Controlled Video Feedback Facilitates the Learning of Tactical Skills in Tennis

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the effect of self-controlled video feedback on the learning of tactical motor skills in tennis, and additionally, whether this was affected by learners' self-efficacy and self-regulative skills. Method: Twenty-three intermediately skilled tennis players were assigned to either a self-controlled group that was provided video feedback on request or a yoked group that received an identical, externally controlled video feedback schedule. In three training sessions participants practiced serve and volley play. Video feedback with attentional cueing and transitional statements that focused solely on individual tactical gameplay was provided by a licensed tennis coach. Individual tactical performance was measured with a custom designed Tactical Tennis Tool (TTT) in a pretest, posttest and in a one-week retention test. Before each test self-efficacy was measured, and a questionnaire was administered to measure self-regulative skills. Results: Analyses revealed significantly larger improvements in tactical performance relative to the pretest for the self-controlled group than for the yoked group in both the posttest and the one-week retention test. No differences were found in self-efficacy. Finally, the improvements in tactical performance were not predicted by self-efficacy and/or self-regulative skills. Conclusion: The advantage of self-controlled video feedback extends to the learning of a complex tactical task in tennis. Future research should verify the observed benefits of a self-controlled learning environment in comparison to a coach-controlled learning environment.

Treatment for Childhood Apraxia of Speech: Past, Present, and Future

PURPOSE

The purposes of this review article were to provide an introduction to and "bird's-eye" overview of the current evidence base for treatment of childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), identify some gaps and trends in this rapidly growing literature, and formulate some future research directions, in order to advance the evidence base and clinical practice for children with CAS.

METHOD

Following a brief introduction outlining important concepts, a narrative review of the CAS treatment literature is provided, and trends and future directions are identified based on this review. The review is organized around four fundamental treatment research questions: (a) "Does Treatment X work?", (b) "Does Treatment X work better than Treatment Y?", (c) "For whom does Treatment X work?", and (d) "What does 'work' mean, anyway?"

RESULTS

A wide range of CAS treatments with varying degrees of evidence for efficacy exists. Research is beginning to emerge that compares different treatments and seeks to determine optimal treatment parameters. Few studies to date have explored child-level predictors of treatment response, and the evidence base currently is limited in scope with respect to populations and outcomes studied.

CONCLUSIONS

A growing evidence base supports the efficacy of a number of treatments for CAS. However, many important gaps in the literature were identified that warrant redoubled and sustained research attention. Research is beginning to emerge that addresses treatment optimization, comparison, candidacy, and outcomes. Suggestions for future research are offered, and the concept of a hypothesized pathway was applied to CAS to illustrate how components of an intervention can effect change in a clinical goal and can help guide development and refinement of treatments for children with CAS.

Effects of self-controlled practice and focus of attention on free throw accuracy: Exploring optimal theory among skilled basketball players

Based on the OPTIMAL theory of motor learning (Wulf & Lewthwaite, 2016), optimal motor performance and learning will occur through the influence of the two motivational factors of enhanced expectancies and autonomy support (self-controlled practice) as well as the attentional factor of the external focus of attention. Recently, some researchers tested this theory on different motor tasks using novices. However, it seems that this theory has not been tested in skilled athletes. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of self-controlled practice and focus of attention on the accuracy of free throws of skilled basketball players. The participants were 56 skilled adult basketball players (28 men; average age = 27.75 ± 3.31 years; 28 women, average age = 27.18 ± 3.63 years) who were randomly divided into two self-control and yoked groups. Each group performed 80 basketball free throw trials in four different attention conditions (external, internal, holistic, control) as a counterbalance, so that each participant made 20 basketball free throws in each attention condition. The results showed that skilled basketball players in the self-controlled group performed better than the yoked group when they could choose the color of the ball. The results also showed that focusing on external or holistic cues compared to focusing on internal cues improved basketball free throw performance in skilled players. However, the results did not show a difference between external and holistic attention with the control condition. The control condition was also similar to the internal attention condition. In summary, the results of this research could only partially support the OPTIMAL theory and showed that each of the two variables of self-controlled practice and external or holistic focus of attention separately and independently affect the motor performance of skilled basketball players and their additive effect was not observed. It is suggested that coaches try to use autonomy support as well as external or holistic focus of attention in practical situations to improve the motor performance of skilled athletes.

Effectiveness of different extrinsic feedback forms on motor learning in children with cerebral palsy: a systematic review

PURPOSE

Motor learning interventions for children with cerebral palsy (CP) that elicit relatively permanent and transferable improvements in motor skill capability are essential. Knowledge is needed about the augmented feedback forms that most effectively promote this. This review aims to collect and analyze the current evidence for the effectiveness of different forms of feedback for motor learning in children with CP to improve motor task performance.

METHODS

PubMed, PsycInfo, and Cochrane Library were searched to identify relevant studies. Studies were included if (1) they were conducted in children with CP or compared children with CP to TD children and (2) a form of augmented feedback related to a motor task was administered.

RESULTS

Initially, 401 records were identified for screening. Ultimately, 12 articles were included in the review. The evidence thus far supports the expectancy that children with CP generally benefit from feedback provided during or after performing a movement task.

CONCLUSION

Due to the heterogeneity of existing studies, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions regarding relative effectiveness of feedback forms. This review showed that more high-quality research is warranted on the effectiveness of specific feedback forms on motor learning in children with CP.Implications for RehabilitationChildren with CP benefit from several forms of knowledge of performance or knowledge of results feedback provided during or after performing a movement task.Feedback should not be provided with every performed trial.Feedback frequency can best be reduced by letting children determine after which trials they want feedback.Learning curves under similar feedback conditions varied largely between children, warranting tailor-made forms of feedback to be applied during motor learning and rehabilitation.

How can instructions and feedback with external focus be shaped to enhance motor learning in children? A systematic review

Aim

This systematic review investigates the effectiveness of instructions and feedback with external focus applied with reduced frequency, self-controlled timing and/or in visual or auditory form, on the performance of functional gross motor tasks in children aged 2 to 18 with typical or atypical development.

Methods

Four databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase) were systematically searched (last updated May 31st 2021). Inclusion criteria were: 1. children aged 2 to 18 years old; 2. Instructions/feedback with external focus applied with reduced frequency, self-controlled timing, and/or visual or auditory form as intervention, to learn functional gross motor tasks; 3. Instructions/feedback with external focus applied with continuous frequency, instructor-controlled timing, and/or verbal form as control; 4. performance measure as outcome; 5. (randomized) controlled studies. Article selection and risk of bias assessment (with the Cochrane risk of bias tools) was conducted by two reviewers independently. Due to heterogeneity in study characteristics and incompleteness of the reported data, a best-evidence synthesis was performed.

Results

Thirteen studies of low methodological quality were included, investigating effectiveness of reduced frequencies (n = 8), self-controlled timing (n = 5) and visual form (n = 1) on motor performance of inexperienced typically (n = 348) and atypically (n = 195) developing children, for acquisition, retention and/or transfer. For accuracy, conflicting or no evidence was found for most comparisons, at most time points. However, there was moderate evidence that self-controlled feedback was most effective for retention, and limited evidence that visual analogy was most effective for retention and transfer. To improve quality of movement, there was limited evidence that continuous frequency was most effective for retention and transfer.

Conclusion

More methodologically sound studies are needed to draw conclusions about the preferred frequency, timing or form. However, we cautiously advise considering self-controlled feedback, visual instructions, and continuous frequency.

Trial registration

Registration: Prospero CRD42021225723. https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42021225723.

Autonomy and focus of attention in medical motor skills learning: a randomized experiment

BACKGROUND

The 'OPTIMAL' (Optimizing Performance Through Intrinsic Motivation and Attention for Learning) theory of motor learning suggests that autonomy, external focus of attention, and perceived competence can improve learning of simple motor tasks. The authors hypothesized that enhanced (vs. routine) autonomy and external (vs. internal) focus of attention would improve first-try performance of two medical motor tasks.

METHODS

The authors conducted a randomized two-by-two factorial design study with high school students as participants. Task instructions promoted either enhanced or routine autonomy, and either external or internal focus of attention. These conditions were replicated in a crossover design for two common medical tasks (chest compressions on a manikin and a Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery peg transfer task). Primary outcomes were objective measures of task performance (chest compression deviation from target depth; peg transfer time with penalties for errors). Secondary outcomes included subjective perceptions of confidence, autonomy, and workload.

RESULTS

One hundred thirty-three high school students participated in this study. The primary outcomes concerning enhanced vs. routine autonomy demonstrated no statistically significant difference in either task (chest compression depth deviation: difference -0.7 mm [score range 0 to 37.5 mm]; 95% confidence interval (CI95) -3.85, 2.41; p = .65; peg transfer penalized time: rate ratio 1.03; CI95 0.91, 1.31; p = .79). The authors likewise found no statistically significant difference for external vs. internal focus of attention (depth deviation: difference 1.1 mm; CI95 -2.04, 4.17; p = .50; penalized time: rate ratio 0.89; CI95 0.75, 1.13; p = .33). The authors found no statistically significant differences for either comparison in confidence, autonomy and workload (p > .09; differences ranged from -0.83 to 0.79 [scale range 0 to 10]).

CONCLUSIONS

First-try performance of chest compressions and peg transfer by novice learners is not significantly affected by enhanced (vs. routine) autonomy or external (vs. internal) focus of attention.

The autonomy and focus of attention strategies under distraction: Frequency and sample entropy analyses in a dynamic balance task

An external focus of attention has been shown to be effective in balance tasks. However, replication in applied settings is limited. The OPTIMAL theory proposes that a combination of autonomy and external focus increases focus to the task goal, and therefore more effective than external focus alone. However, research suggests that the combined effect is limited in discrete skills, and the increased focus effect is only reported by subjective assessment. The present study examined the effect of the combined strategy and its effect of "increased focus" compared to external focus and control groups under distraction. In experiment 1, participants (N = 60) practiced eight 35 s trials on a stabilometer followed by a 10 min-delayed retention test and an auditory distraction transfer test. The combined group chose a tape color to place on a stabilometer and was told to "keep the tapes parallel to the floor," the external focus group was yoked with the combined group, and the control group was told to "do your best". Performance was measured in Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). The increased focus effect was examined by both subjective (distraction score, a question about participants' perceptions) and objective (Mean Power Frequency, MPF, Sample entropy, SampEn) methods. Although participants improved significantly (p < .05), group differences were not observed during retention (p's > 0.05). An increased focus effect of the combined effect was not observed in any variables (p's > 0.05). In experiment 2, the practice duration was extended to replicate previous study designs (i.e., 90s trials; 2 days of practice; 24 h retention test; the number of participants). Consistent with experiment 1, group differences were not evident in RMSE, SampEn, and MPF (p's > 0.05). We suggest that autonomy may be required to be task-relevant, and simply telling to do best may be as useful as external focus or combined strategies in a continuous balance task. Further, the analysis showed that SampEn increased on Day 1 but decreased on Day 2, and MPF decreased within a session, but the average MPF increased by the day. Potential explanations and future directions when utilizing these metrics are discussed.

Effects of self-controlled knowledge of performance on motor learning and self-efficacy: A kinematic study

Study aim: To evaluate the effects of providing the learners with self-controlled knowledge of performance (KP) on motor learning and self-efficacy (SE) in a dart-throwing motor task.

Material and methods: The participants were thirty female university students who were divided into two groups including self-control and yoked groups. Participants performed five blocks of five trials in the acquisition phase, and retention and transfer tests of 10 trials one day later. Intra-limb coordination patterns (movement pattern), throwing scores, and SE (both movement pattern and movement outcome) were measured as dependent variables. Independent t test and one-way ANOVA with repeated measures were used as statistical tests.

Results: The self-controlled group performed significantly better than yoked group on movement pattern during the acquisition phase (F1,28 = 24.239, p = 0.001) and the retention test (t28 = –3.074, p = 0.007). However, there were no significant differences between groups in terms of throwing scores and SE during the acquisition, retention, and transfer phases (all p > 0.05).

Conclusion: Providing self-controlled KP can improve learning of movement pattern in the novices but do not necessary increase movement outcome or SE.

The effect of attentional instructions during modeling on gaze behavior and throwing accuracy in 7 to 10 year-old children

Research has shown the effectiveness of attentional instructions and observation on the performance and learning in children. However, there is little research on the effects of instruction that manipulates attentional focus during observation. The purpose of the study was to investigate performance following instructions that directed an individual to focus internally or externally during the viewing of a model. Eye tracking was also used to investigate the visual search strategy under different instructional groups. 24 children between the ages of 7 and 10 years were randomly divided into an internal (IFM) or external (EFM) modeling group. Children performed a 10-trial pre-test to measure throwing accuracy and quiet eye duration (QED). Following pre-test, children observed a model performing the correct overarm throw 10 times while eye movement was recorded. They then performed a 10-trial post-test. Results revealed that both groups improved accuracy from pre-test to post-test (p < .001) and increased QED from pre- to post-test (p < .001). It was also observed that EFM had greater accuracy and (p = .01) and longer QED (p < .001) than IFM during post-testing. Evidence was also observed for adherence to the attentional focus strategy as EFM and IFM looked more frequently at the specific cue provided (p < .001). Directing visual attention to the movement effects while observing a model significantly benefits motor performance and learning in children. Changing the focus of instruction to an external focus improved both throwing accuracy and increased QED.

Easy Task and Choice: Motivational Interventions Facilitate Motor Skill Learning in Children

Expectancies for success and autonomy support have been shown to facilitate motor learning and enhance motor performance. The purpose of the study was to examine whether we replicated (a) enhanced expectancies and autonomy support intervention enhanced motor skill learning in children, and (b) identified the underlying psychological mechanism. Sixty children kicked soccer balls with their dominant leg to a squared area target. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the four groups: enhanced expectancies and autonomy support (EE/AS), enhanced expectancies (EE), autonomy support (AS), or control (CON) groups. Participants learning the skill were or were not provided enhanced expectation instructions by making the task success easier and provided an opportunity to choose one of the three colored balls during their practice. Two days later, they performed retention and transfer tests. Results indicated that the EE/AS group had the highest scores, with main effects of autonomy support being significant and enhanced expectancies being marginally significant for the retention test and significant for the transfer test. The EE/AS group had the highest self-efficacy and perceived choice scores. Therefore, having high expectancies for success and being autonomous were important ingredients for facilitating motor skill learning in children.

Providing Choice Enhances Motor Performance under Psychological Pressure

The purpose of this present study was to examine whether providing choice would enhance motor performance under psychological pressure. Participants were asked to throw soft-golf balls toward a circular target. The practice phase consisted of 30 trials using three colored balls (i.e., blue, red, yellow) from 5.5 meters. Participants then performed 10 throws from 2 different distances: 5.5 meters (pressure phase) and 6.5 meters (transfer pressure phase) under psychological pressure. Prior to the pressure and transfer pressure phases, the choice group participants were asked to choose the color of the soft-golf ball whereas the control group participants were yoked to their counterpart participant based on the selections of their colored balls. Results demonstrated that despite similar throwing accuracy being produced at the pressure phase between the two groups, the choice group had significantly higher accuracy scores at the transfer pressure phase than the control group. Thus, the autonomy-supportive condition led to enhanced motor performance under psychological pressure.

Cognitive Loading During and After Continuous Task Execution Alters the Effects of Self-Controlled Knowledge of Results

Previous research has repeatedly demonstrated that providing learners with self-control (SC) over their feedback schedules enhances motor skill learning. Increased information processing under SC conditions has been shown to contribute to these benefits. However, the timing of critical information processing for SC participants during the acquisition of continuous tasks is unknown. The present study was designed to enhance clarity related to this issue. Participants learned a continuous tracing task under SC or yoked (YK) conditions. Groups of participants also completed a secondary cognitive load task either during or after the execution of each primary task trial. Results showed enhanced learning for SC compared to YK participants who did not complete the cognitive load task. However, this benefit was eliminated for SC participants who completed the cognitive load task either during or after the primary task. These findings suggest that effective information processing both during and after continuous task execution is critical for reaping the benefits of self-controlled practice. Further interpretations and implications of these findings as well as suggestions for future research are discussed.

The effects of single versus multiple training sessions on the motor learning of two Krav Maga strike techniques, in women

Background

Experts of the Krav Maga (KM) self-defense system propose that KM techniques are based on simple body movements which are suggested to be learned rapidly and retained. This study investigated the acquisition, retention, and further improvement with additional training of two KM strike techniques among novice female practitioners: straight punch and defensive kick.

Methods

Sixteen healthy females (age: 23 ± 3.7 years) without any previous martial arts/self-defense experience volunteered to participate. All participants received an initial 30-min instruction session (AQ), taught by a certified KM instructor, where each technique was deconstructed into three checkpoints (defined as a component of the entire movement) for learning. Participants were divided into two groups, one of which received additional training. Several kinematic and kinetic measures were recorded at four timepoints: immediately before AQ, immediately after AQ, 5 days after AQ, and 12 days after AQ.

Results

Results suggest that both techniques were learned rapidly, as checkpoint performance was significantly improved after AQ. Kick velocity and impact force also increased significantly after AQ; however, these measures did not change after AQ for the punch technique. Additional training did not improve either punch or kick performance beyond that learned during AQ.

Conclusion

The findings from this study suggest that a single training session may be sufficient to learn and retain KM strike techniques relatively permanently; and the acquisition of the kick technique may lead to concomitant improvements in kick velocity and impact force.

Role of Proprioception in Slow and Rapid Movements

This study aimed to compare the contributions of sources of proprioception to the reproduction accuracy of relatively slower and more rapid arm movements. We recruited 34 volunteers and gave them dart throwing tasks under two different durations followed by joint position sense (JPS) tests and force sense (FS) tests at the elbow and the wrist. We found moderately positive correlations between slow movement performance and proprioceptive acuity with FS (wrist) and JPS (elbow), accounting for 52% of the absolute errors ( p <  .001), and, with FS (wrist), accounting for 50% of the variable error ( p <  .001). Moreover, we observed a smaller correlation between rapid movement performance and proprioceptive acuity, accounting for 17% of absolute errors with JPS (elbow; p =  .008) and 11% of variable error ( p =  .033). These results suggest that relatively slow movement performance is partly determined by performers’ proprioceptive acuity of the movement-related limbs. Relatively rapid movement performance is also affected by correctional proprioceptive feedback, though to a lesser degree.

The effects of external and internal focus of attention on motor learning and promoting learner’s focus

Study aim: External focus of attention is considered as a critical factor in the OPTIMAL theory of motor learning. This theory proposes that external focus of attention facilitates motor performance and learning because it promotes focusing on the task goal. However, the effects of external focus of attention on focusing on the task goal are not well understood. The aim of this study was, therefore, to investigate the effects of an external focus of attention versus an internal focus of attention on motor learning and promoting focus of the learner on the task goal.

Material and methods: Thirty-six right-handed male students (mean age 21.16 ± 1.85 years old) with no prior experiences with the motor task were randomly assigned to three groups: external focus, internal focus, and control groups. Participants were asked to throw darts at a target during an acquisition phase (10 blocks of six trials each) and during subsequent retention and transfer tests. Throwing accuracy and focus on the task goal were measured as dependent variables. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures as well as a one-way ANOVA was used to analyze the differences in accuracy scores between groups during the acquisition phase as well as retention and transfer tests, respectively. The significance level was set at p < .05. The author supervised all phases of the experiment.

Results: The results showed that adopting an external focus promoted a focus on the task goal and resulted in significantly better motor learning than adopting an internal focus and control conditions (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: The findings of the present study provided support for the propositions of the OPTIMAL theory and showed that adopting an external focus of attention promotes focus of the learner on the task goal. The results are discussed in terms of benefits of external focus instructions for facilitating motor learning and goal-action coupling.

On Whether Task Experience of the Peer Differentially Impacts Feedback Scheduling and Skill Acquisition of a Learner

Previous research has shown that peers without task experience provided knowledge of results (KR) as effectively as performers who self-controlled their own KR schedule (McRae et al., 2015). In the present experiment, a group of participants first practiced a motor task while self-controlling their KR during a defined acquisition period. Twenty-four hours after their last retention trial, these participants with motor experience then provided KR to a learner during their skill acquisition. Participants were required to learn a serial-timing task with a goal of 2,500 ms. Participants completed a defined acquisition period and then returned 24 h later for a retention test. In retention, learners who received KR from experienced peers were predicted to outperform learners who received KR from inexperienced peers. The results showed that performers learned the task similarly, independent of the peer’s previous task experience. However, the peer groups differed in their frequency of providing KR to the learner and showed a discrepancy between their self-reported KR provision strategy and when they actually provided KR. The results have theoretical implications for understanding the impact of self-control in motor learning contexts.

Neural mechanism underlying self-controlled feedback on motor skill learning

The present study investigated the neural mechanisms of self-controlled (SC) feedback underlying its learning advantages. Forty-two participants, including 24 females (16.43 ± 2.61 years) and 18 males (17.56 ± 0.86 years), were randomly assigned to a SC or yoked (YK) group. The 6-key-pressing task with a goal movement time was adopted as the experimental task. The behavioral results showed that the SC group demonstrated superior performance in transfer; however, the differences in retention did not reach statistical significance. Event-related potential analyses revealed that the SC group exhibited larger post-stimulus and post-feedback P3 amplitudes than the YK group in the frontal regions; these amplitudes were larger in the YK group in the parietal regions. The post-response error positivity amplitude was found to be larger in the YK group than in the SC group. These results suggest that SC feedback may allow the learner to more actively process the task stimuli and feedback information, and contributes to enhancing the learner's motivation and attachment to the task being practiced. The present study provides a neurophysiological explanation for why SC feedback is effective in learning a new motor skill.

Motivational effects of enhancing expectancies and autonomy for motor learning: An examination of the OPTIMAL theory

The OPTIMAL theory proposes that enhancing expectancies and autonomy facilitate motor performance and learning (Wulf & Lewthwaite). Present study with two experiments aimed to examine this proposition by using a modified dart throwing as motor task. In both experiments, motor learning (i.e., retention test) was enhanced by practice conditions, which enhance expectancies for future performance and support learners' autonomy. Moreover, they led to significantly superior self-efficacy scores during all acquisition phase, retention, and transfer tests. Findings of the present study provided support for propositions of the OPTIMAL theory. Results are discussed in terms of motivational aspects of enhancing expectancies and autonomy and their role on facilitating motor learning.

Examining the impact of error estimation on the effects of self-controlled feedback

Two experiments were conducted that examined the motivational and informational perspectives concerning learning advantages from self-controlled practice. Three groups were tasked with learning a novel skill; self-controlled (SC), yoked traditional (YT), and yoked with error estimation required during the acquisition phase (YE). Results from the delayed learning measures showed the YE group performed better than the SC and YT groups, for Expt. 1. A similar pattern emerged for Expt. 2, albeit, this was not significant. While there were no motivation differences across the groups in either experiment, a strong correlation in Expt. 2 was shown between error estimation capabilities, which were best for the YE group, and learning. These combined results suggest that informational processes contribute more to the self-controlled feedback learning advantage, relative to motivational contributions.

Visual Illusions Affect Motor Performance, But not Learning in Highly Skilled Shooters

Enhanced expectancies are an important component of OPTIMAL theory and are thought to contribute to motor performance and learning. There is limited information, however, on the generalizability of OPTIMAL theory to highly skilled individuals. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of visual illusions, specifically an Ebbinghaus illusion, on the performance and learning of an aiming task using highly skilled 10-m rifle and pistol shooters. Two groups of shooters with international experience were recruited and practiced with perceived larger and smaller targets. Our results indicated that participants who perceived the target larger reported higher self-efficacy immediately after practice. In addition, these participants had higher shooting performance during practice. Our retention test (24 hours later), however, did not produce differences in self-efficacy or shooting performance. Our data suggests that visual illusions are beneficial for motor performance in highly skilled shooters, but may not affect learning in those who are in the latter stages of learning. Further studies should continue examining the role of visual illusions for enhancing expectancies in highly skilled and experienced performers.

EXTRAVERSION/INTROVERSION AND AGE-RELATED DIFFERENCES IN SPEED-ACCURACY TRADEOFF

ABSTRACT Introduction: Extraversion/introversion and age differences might influence speed-accuracy tradeoff. Objective: The speed-accuracy tradeoff was investigated in extroverted and introverted female children, young adults and older adults. Method: Participants carried out an alternative version of Fitts’ task, which involved making alternate clicks with the mouse held in the dominant hand, moving as fast as possible, on two rectangular targets on a computer screen in order to make twelve attempts at six random levels of difficulty (twelve combinations of target widths and distances between targets). Each of the three groups was composed of 16 introverted and 16 extroverted subjects, based upon Brazilian versions of Eysenck’s questionnaire. Results: Elderly introverts fell short of the target more often and committed more overall errors than the elderly extroverts. Additionally, compared to their younger adult counterparts, the elderly subjects fell short of the target more often and committed more overall errors, besides taking longer to complete the task with higher levels of difficulty. Conclusion: The findings were interpreted in light of theories designed to explain the main processes underlying extroversion/introversion and age-related differences. Level of Evidence II; Lesser quality prospective study.

Relatedness support enhances motor learning

The present experiment was designed to test the effects of practice with relatedness support on motor learning. Forty-five young adults practiced a task in which they were required to learn to swim the front crawl stroke for one length in an indoor swimming pool (25 m) using 50% of the maximal speed. In the relatedness support condition (RS group), the instructions emphasized acknowledgement, caring, and interest in the participants' experiences, while in the relatedness thwart condition (RTh group), instructions emphasized disinterest in the participant as a person. A third, neutral condition (Control group) did not receive specific relatedness instructions. One day after practice, participants completed retention and transfer tests. The RS group demonstrated greater improvement in performance during practice and enhanced learning relative to the RTh and Control groups, while the RTh group showed decreased learning compared with the Control group. Furthermore, RS participants reported higher motivation and greater positive affect than the RTh and Control groups. The present findings demonstrate that relatedness support enhances the learning of motor skills. They also highlight motivational and affective effects that are observed when learners are provided with relatedness support.

Video-game-assisted physiotherapeutic scoliosis-specific exercises for idiopathic scoliosis: case series and introduction of a new tool to increase motivation and precision of exercise performance

Background

It is important to monitor how patients with juvenile and adolescent idiopathic scoliosis comply with their physiotherapeutic scoliosis-specific exercises (PSSE). Physiogame, a newly developed video game using the Game-Trak 3D interactive game controller, combines correct PSSE performance with gaming. It tracks the position of the working limb in 3D space during the exercises as participants aim to hit certain targets and avoid others, and gives direct feedback by stopping the game if the working limb leaves the target 3D space, which is chosen to secure the corrective position according to the Schroth method. Physiogame records the quality and frequency of the exercises performed. We aimed to investigate the influence of this tool on motivation to perform regularly and, correctly, and with self-assessment of performance quality.

Methods

This case series included 8 consecutive patients with idiopathic scoliosis (thoracolumbar 7, lumbar 1), ages 7-13 years, all female and treated according to SOSORT guidelines; the COBB angle of primary curve at the start of brace therapy was 22-34°. In addition to Full Time Rigid Bracing (FTRB, Cheneau) and PSSE (Schroth), the participants were to perform two standardized Schroth exercises (muscle cylinder in standing position, mainly addressing the thoracic curve, and in side-lying position, mainly addressing the lumbar curve) with video game assistance every day for 6 months. The development (first to last month) of the following parameters was analyzed with descriptive methods: the actual training time to assess motivation, the ratio of the actual playing time versus total playing time to assess exercise improvement, and self-assessment of quality of performance.

Results

The average number of sessions with Physiogame was 217 per study participant (range 24 to 572, the study protocol targeted at least 180); actual training time decreased from 79 to 52 min (first to last month). Actual playing time increased from 73% of the total playing time to 83% (first to last month), and positive hits per second from 0.33 to 0.56. Self-assessment increased from “good” to “very good”. The curve angles (°Cobb) were maintained over the study period (upper thoracic mean -1.3°, median -1°; lower thoracic mean 3°, median 2°; lumbar mean 0.5, median 0).

Conclusions

The improvement we saw in exercise performance, is thought to result primarily from the direct given feedback during the game, as the exercises themselves were already familiar to the patients. The synchronous recording of actual training time allows evaluation of Schroth therapy for idiopathic scoliosis, since both prescribed training time and actual training time are captured. No comparable tool was found in literature.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13013-016-0104-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Comparing the Effects of Self-Controlled and Examiner-Controlled Feedback on Learning in Children With Developmental Coordination Disorder

Background:

Feedback can improve task learning in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). However, the frequency and type of feedback may play different role in learning and needs to more investigations.

Objectives:

The aim of this study was to evaluate the acquisition and retention of new feedback skills in children with DCD under different frequency of self-control and control examiner feedback.

Materials and Methods:

In this quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest design, participants based on their retention were divided into four feedback groups: self-controlled feedback groups with frequencies of 50% and75%, experimenter controls with frequencies of 50% and 75%. The study sample consisted of 24 boys with DCD aged between 9 to 11 years old in Ahvaz City, Iran. Then subjects practiced 30 throwing (6 blocks of 5 attempts) in eighth session. Acquisition test immediately after the last training session, and then the retention test were taken. Data were analyzed using the paired t-test, ANOVA and Tukey tests.

Results:

The results showed no significant difference between groups in the acquisition phase (P > 0.05). However,in the retention session, group of self-control showed better performance than the control tester group (P < 0.05).

Conclusions:

Based on the current findings, self-control feedback with high frequency leads to more learning in DCD children. The results of this study can be used in rehabilitation programs to improve performance and learning in children with DCD.

Controlling Absolute Frequency of Feedback in a Self-Controlled Situation Enhances Motor Learning

The guidance hypothesis suggested that excessive extrinsic feedback facilitates motor performance but blocks the processing of intrinsic information. The present study tested the tenet of guidance hypothesis in self-controlled feedback by controlling the feedback frequency. The motor learning effect of limiting absolute feedback frequency was examined. Thirty-six participants (25 men, 11 women; M age = 25.1 yr., SD = 2.2) practiced a hand-grip force control task on a dynamometer by the non-dominant hand with varying amounts of feedback. They were randomly assigned to: (a) Self-controlled, (b) Yoked with self-controlled, and (c) Limited self-controlled conditions. In acquisition, two-way analysis of variance indicated significantly lower absolute error in both the yoked and limited self-controlled groups than the self-controlled group. The effect size of absolute error between trials with feedback and without feedback in the limited self-controlled condition was larger than that of the self-controlled condition. In the retention and transfer tests, the Limited self-controlled feedback group had significantly lower absolute error than the other two groups. The results indicated an increased motor learning effect of limiting absolute frequency of feedback in the self-controlled condition.

Effects of self-control and instructor-control feedback on motor learning in individuals with cerebral palsy

In this study we investigated the effects of "self-control and instructor-control feedback" on motor learning in individuals with cerebral palsy (CP). For this reason 22 boy students with CP type I (12.26±3.11 years of age) were chosen. They were put into self-control feedback, instructor-control feedback and control groups. All participants practiced dart throwing skill for 5 sessions (4 blocks of 5 trails each session). The self-control group received knowledge of results (KR) feedback for half of their trials whenever they wanted. The instructor-control group received KR feedback after half of both their good and bad trails. The control group received no feedback for any trails. The acquisition test was run immediately at the end of each practice session (the last block) and the retention and transfer tests were run 24h following the acquisition phase. Analyses of variance with repeated measures and Post hoc tests were used to analyze the data. According to the results of this study, individuals with CP have the ability of acquiring and retaining a new motor skill. Also, it was found that self-control feedback is effective than instructor-control feedback on learning of a motor task in individuals with CP as in the average population. These findings show that rules regarding feedback also apply to people afflicted with CP.

Novel methods of instruction in ACL injury prevention programs, a systematic review

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury prevention programs have been successful in the short term. Motor learning strategies with an internal focus (IF) to body movements have traditionally been utilized, but may be less suitable than an external focus (EF) for the acquisition and control of complex motor skills required for sport. To investigate the available literature and provide an overview of the effect of IF and EF instructions on jump landing technique. Systematic searches were conducted in PubMed (1966 to May 2014), CINAHL (1981 to May 2014) and PsycInfo (1989 to May 2014). A priori defined inclusion criteria were: (i) full text; (ii) published in English, German or Dutch; (iii) healthy adult subjects (mean age ≥18 years); (iv) jump and landing performance tested and (v) study used comparison between an EF and IF. Performance (jump height and distance) and technique (kinematics and kinetics) were the primary outcome variables of interest. Nine papers were included. Significant better motor performance and movement technique was found with an EF compared to an IF. Considering the beneficial results in the included studies when utilizing an EF, it is suggested to implement these strategies into ACL injury prevention programs.

Self-controlled practice enhances motor learning in introverts and extroverts

PURPOSE

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of self-controlled feedback on the learning of a sequential-timing motor task in introverts and extroverts.

METHOD

Fifty-six university students were selected by the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. They practiced a motor task consisting of pressing computer keyboard keys in a specific spatial and temporal pattern. The experiment consisted of practice, retention, and transfer phases. The participants were distributed into 4 groups, formed by the combination of personality trait (extraversion/introversion) and type of feedback frequency (self-controlled/yoked).

RESULTS

The results showed superior learning for the groups that practiced in a self-controlled schedule, in relation to groups who practiced in an externally controlled schedule, F(1, 52) = 4.13, p < .05, eta2 = .07, regardless of personality trait.

CONCLUSION

We conclude that self-controlled practice enhances motor learning in introverts and extroverts.

Effects of generic versus non-generic feedback on motor learning in children

Non-generic feedback refers to a specific event and implies that performance is malleable, while generic feedback implies that task performance reflects an inherent ability. The present study examined the influences of generic versus non-generic feedback on motor performance and learning in 10-year-old children. In the first experiment, using soccer ball kicking at a target as a task, providing participants with generic feedback resulted in worse performance than providing non-generic feedback, after both groups received negative feedback. The second experiment measured more permanent effects. Results of a retention test, performed one day after practicing a throwing task, showed that participants who received non-generic feedback during practice outperformed the generic feedback group, after receiving a negative feedback statement. The findings demonstrate the importance of the wording of feedback. Even though different positive feedback statements may not have an immediate influence on performance, they can affect performance, and presumably individuals' motivation, when performance is (purportedly) poor. Feedback implying that performance is malleable, rather than due to an inherent ability, seems to have the potential to inoculate learners against setbacks – a situation frequently encountered in the context of motor performance and learning.