Reduced frequency of knowledge of results enhances motor skill learning.

Relative frequency of knowledge of results (KR) is the proportion of KR presentations to the total number of practice trials. Three experiments are reported in which the effects of variations in acquisition KR relative frequency were examined. Experiment 1 showed that a markedly reduced KR relative frequency during practice was as effective for learning as measured by various retention tests, compared with a 100% KR practice condition. In Experiments 2 and 3, when the scheduling of KR was manipulated so that the number of KR trials was systematically lowered across practice, a reduced average relative frequency enhanced learning as measured by a delayed no-KR retention test (Experiment 2) and a retention test in which KR was provided (Experiment 3). Results are inconsistent with predictions from an acquisition-test specificity hypothesis and conventional motor learning theories and thus suggest a revision in the principles governing the role of KR for motor learning. Empirical support is provided for the KR guidance hypothesis (A. W. Salmoni et al; see record 1984-22348-001) and for various encoding-retrieval operations associated with spaced retrieval practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Knowledge of results and children's motor learning.

In 2 experiments the hypothesis that the optimum precision level of knowledge of results (KR) for motor learning varies as a direct function of age was tested. 480 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 9th graders performed a series of trials on a simple linear positioning task under a variety of KR precision levels. Results show that level of motor performance achieved was a direct function of age. A curvilinear relationship between KR and age was obtained whereby very imprecise and precise levels of KR produced a poorer performance and the optimum level of KR became more precise with age. Results support the view that information-processing capacity improves with developmental age in motor learning. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The learning of generalized motor programs: Reducing the relative frequency of knowledge of results enhances memory.

In earlier studies, reducing the relative frequency of knowledge of results (KR) enhanced retention of single movements. In the experiments here we asked whether this variable also enhances memory for classes of actions governed by generalized motor programs. Acquisition conditions involved practicing three versions of a sequential timing task. All three versions had the same temporal structure (or phasing), but the overall durations were different. KR was presented on either 100% or 67% of the trials for two groups. In Experiment 1, reduced relative KR frequency, spread equally across all task versions, enhanced accuracy of the learned relative timing structure as measured on a transfer test with a novel movement duration. Experiment 2 showed that retention of a medium-duration version was more accurate for subjects who never received KR about it in acquisition, as compared with subjects who always did. The data support the view that reduced KR frequency enhances acquisition of the relative-timing structure underlying memory for a class of actions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Knowledge of results and motor learning: A review and critical reappraisal.

Examines some critical definitional and experimental-design problems that underlie the principles of knowledge of results (KR) and learning, the KR literature, and how newer principles of KR lead to notions of how KR works in human motor-learning situations. KR is defined as augmented feedback, where the KR is additional to those sources of feedback that are naturally received when a response is made. Transfer tests, usually under no-KR conditions, are essential for unraveling the temporary effects of KR manipulations from their relatively permanent learning effects. When this is considered, the literature reveals findings that produce reasonable agreement, although there are a number of inconsistencies in studies examining the same variables. When learning vs performance effects of KR are separated, a number of contradictions occur; new principles that emerge include the notion that KR acts as guidance, that it is motivating or energizing, and that it has a role in the formation of associations. It is suggested that KR may guide an S to the proper target behavior, with other processes (e.g., simple repetition) being the critical determinants of learning. (4 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of knowledge of ability test results on academic performance and test anxiety.

Administered the School and College Ability Test to 222 freshmen during the 2nd wk. of the spring semester. Ss were then assigned to groups receiving detailed, limited, or no knowledge of their test performance. Ss completed the Test Anxiety Scale during the final examination period and GPAs were collected at the end of the semester. It was hypothesized that Ss with detailed knowledge would obtain higher GPAs and have a lower level of test anxiety. No significant differences in GPAs were found among the groups. Test anxiety was higher for the detailed knowledge group (p     

Vigilance: Effects of frequency of knowledge of results.

For 1 hr. Ss observed an oscilloscope on which 8 signals appeared in a 15-min period which they were to report. Knowledge of results was given after 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100% of the signals. Significant differences occurred between the number of targets detected by the 0% and 25% groups, the 25% and 50% groups, but none between the 50% 75%, and 100% groups. The vigilance decrement was not significantly affected by frequency of knowledge of results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Information feedback for skill acquisition: Instantaneous knowledge of results degrades learning.

The role of acquired error-detection capabilities in skill learning was investigated by manipulating the delay of knowledge of results (KR). Compared with delayed feedback, instantaneous KR should be detrimental to the learning of error-detection capabilities because it should tend to block spontaneous subjective evaluation of response-produced feedback. Weaker error-detection capabilities should then be evident on delayed no-KR retention tests. During acquisition, one group of subjects received KR after a delay of a few seconds while another group received KR instantaneously; then both were evaluated on several retention tests. Using a timing task with two reversals in direction (Experiment 1) and a coincident-timing task (Experiment 2), we found that, relative to delayed feedback, instantaneous KR degraded learning as measured on delayed retention tests. Although the KR-delay interval has traditionally been considered of minor importance for skill learning, the present findings suggest that very short KR-delays interfere with learning, perhaps by degrading the acquisition of error-detection capabilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Associations of postural knowledge and basic motor skill with dyspraxia in autism: Implication for abnormalities in distributed connectivity and motor learning.

Children with autism often have difficulty performing skilled movements. Praxis performance requires basic motor skill, knowledge of representations of the movement (mediated by parietal regions), and transcoding of these representations into movement plans (mediated by premotor circuits). The goals of this study were (a) to determine whether dyspraxia in autism is associated with impaired representational (“postural”) knowledge and (b) to examine the contributions of postural knowledge and basic motor skill to dyspraxia in autism. Thirty-seven children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 50 typically developing (TD) children, ages 8–13, completed (a) an examination of basic motor skills, (b) a postural knowledge test assessing praxis discrimination, and (c) a praxis examination. Children with ASD showed worse basic motor skill and postural knowledge than did controls. The ASD group continued to show significantly poorer praxis than did controls after accounting for age, IQ, basic motor skill, and postural knowledge. Dyspraxia in autism appears to be associated with impaired formation of spatial representations, as well as transcoding and execution. Distributed abnormality across parietal, premotor, and motor circuitry, as well as anomalous connectivity, may be implicated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of aging on conditional associative learning: Process analyses and comparison with focal frontal lesions.

Conditional associative learning (CAL), a measure validated in studies of frontal lesions, was used to evaluate the hypothesis that age-related cognitive decline is related to frontal dysfunction. Older adults and focal frontal participants showed impaired CAL performance, but the deficit was greater in the latter group, where it was specific to participants with dorsolateral prefrontal cortical (DLPFC) lesions. The deficits were attributable to strategic rather than basic associative processes. Error scores described ways in which past information failed to guide behavior, and they were related to lesion location. Congruence between older adults and DLPFC participants on a measure of defective inhibition suggests that age-related decline in inhibitory processes is due to DLPFC dysfunction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Implicit learning and tacit knowledge.

I examine the phenomenon of implicit learning, the process by which knowledge about the rule-governed complexities of the stimulus environment is acquired independently of conscious attempts to do so. Our research with the two seemingly disparate experimental paradigms of synthetic grammar learning and probability learning, is reviewed and integrated with other approaches to the general problem of unconscious cognition. The conclusions reached are as follows: (a) Implicit learning produces a tacit knowledge base that is abstract and representative of the structure of the environment; (b) such knowledge is optimally acquired independently of conscious efforts to learn; and (c) it can be used implicitly to solve problems and make accurate decisions about novel stimulus circumstances. Various epistemological issues and related problems such as intuition, neuroclinical disorders of learning and memory, and the relationship of evolutionary processes to cognitive science are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does aging influence people's metacomprehension? Effects of processing ease on judgments of text learning.

In 2 experiments, the authors investigated whether age-related differences exist in metacomprehension by evaluating predictions based on the ease-of-processing (EOP) hypothesis. According to this hypothesis, judgments of how well a text has been learned are based on how easily each text was processed; easier processing results in higher judgments. Participants read either sentence pairs or longer texts and judged their learning of each immediately afterward. Although an age-related difference in the use of processing ease in judgments was observed with sentence pairs, for longer texts older and younger adults' judgments were similarly related to processing ease. In both experiments, age equivalence was also evident in the accuracy of the judgments at predicting performance on the criterion test. The overall pattern of results suggests that judging text learning remains largely intact with aging. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of assigned goal level and knowledge of results on arithmetic computation: A laboratory study.

Examined the effects of knowledge of results (KR) and assigned goals on arithmetic computation. 100 female university students either received or did not receive explicit KR while under an easy or challenging goal assignment. 50 controls received neither KR nor goal assignment. Ss receiving KR under challenging goal assignments significantly increased their computational speed at no apparent cost in accuracy. These findings are congruent with the findings of M. Erez (1977). With the minimizing of implicit KR in the no-KR groups in the present study, challenging goal assignment in itself had no noticeable effect on computational speed and led to a significant increase in errors. It is suggested that feedback may be a necessary complement to assigned goals in facilitating performance. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distance learning, problem based learning and dynamic knowledge networks

This paper is an attempt to develop a distance learning model grounded upon a strict integration of problem based learning (PBL), dynamic knowledge networks (DKN) and web tools, such as hypermedia documents, synchronous and asynchronous communication facilities, etc. The main objective is to develop a theory of distance learning based upon the idea that learning is a highly dynamic cognitive process aimed at connecting different concepts in a network of mutually supporting concepts. Moreover, this process is supposed to be the result of a social interaction that has to be facilitated by the web. The model was tested by creating a virtual classroom of medical and nursing students and activating a learning session on the concept of knowledge representation in health sciences.     

Temporal and amplitude generalization in motor learning

A fundamental feature of human motor control is the ability to vary effortlessly over a substantial range, both the duration and amplitude of our movements. We used a three-dimensional robotic interface, which generated novel velocity dependent forces on the hand, to investigate how adaptation to these altered dynamics experienced only for movements at one temporal rate and amplitude generalizes to movements made at a different rate or amplitude. After subjects had learned to make a single point-to-point movement in a novel velocity-dependent force field, we examined the generalization of this learning to movements of both half the duration or twice the amplitude. Such movements explore a state-space not experienced during learning-any changes in behavior are due to generalization of the learning, the form of which was used to probe the intrinsic constraints on the motor control process. The generalization was assessed by determining the force field in which subjects produced kinematically normal movements. We found substantial generalization of the motor learning to the new movements supporting a nonlocal representation of the control process. Of the fields tested, the form of the generalization was best characterized by linear extrapolation in a state-space representation of the controller. Such an intrinsic constraint on the motor control process can facilitate the scaling of natural movements.     

Effects of switching rate and changeover requirement on performance on nondepriving schedules.

Time spent running and drinking was recorded for 4 male albino rats (Carworth Europe strain) in pre- and postcontingency baselines and on 3 schedules when the changeover requirement was 3 or 100 cm. All schedules gave access to precontingency baseline levels of running and drinking but involved twice, the same, or half the baseline rate of switching. All schedules suppressed running and drinking, usually without facilitation of switching. Suppression was greater, and increased with the rate of switching, when the changeover requirement was large. The pattern of results was predicted by the value-averaging model, but the suppression may have been due to the way the schedules constrained the bouts of responding rather than to the way Ss adapted to the ratio constraints of the schedules. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Variability of practice and implicit motor learning.

The authors examined variable versus constant practice effects on implicit motor learning in continuous pursuit tracking. On every trial, two thirds of each trial consisted of random patterns, whereas one third was always repeated. The tracking patterns (including the repeated segment) were linearly scaled in absolute amplitude (Experiment 1) or overall speed (Experiments 1 and 2), with the scaling factors being either varied or constant across trials for different groups. The repeated segment was generally produced more accurately than the 2 random segments on retention tests and on transfer tests with novel scalings—and without participants' awareness of the repetition—suggesting that the repeated segment was learned implicitly. Also, learning was generally enhanced by variable practice, as compared with constant practice, suggesting that the advantages of variable over constant practice found in discrete tasks are generalizable to feedback-regulated tracking tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of knowledge of social learning principles on enhancing treatment outcome and generalization in a parent training program.

Examined the efficacy of incorporating formal training in social learning principles into a behavioral parent training program as a means of enhancing treatment outcome and generalization. Two groups of parents (n?=?20) received behavioral skill training designed to modify child noncompliance. One group also received formal training in social learning principles throughout the program. Children had a mean age of 61.75 mo. Outcome measures collected prior to and after treatment and at a 2-mo follow-up included home observations by independent observers, parents' perceptions of child adjustment, and a parent consumer-satisfaction measure. Results indicate that after treatment, the group receiving social learning principles tended to perceive their children as better adjusted and tended to be more satisfied with treatment. At follow-up, parents in this group perceived their children as better adjusted and rewarded their children more. Furthermore, their children were significantly more compliant. Results suggest that temporal and setting generality are enhanced by the inclusion of social learning principles into parent training procedures. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of varied reward schedules on generalized persistence of rats.

Gave concurrent acquisition training to 4 groups of male albino rats (N = 70) in 2 parallel runways, such that continuous reward (CR) occurred in 1 alley and varied reward (VR) occurred in the other. The varied reward conditions were partial reward (PR), partial delay (PD), variable magnitude (VM), and constant delay (CD). A CR control group received CR in both alleys. All Ss were extinguished in the alley which had previously been associated with CR. Using resistance to extinction in the CR runway as the index of generalized persistence, the groups were ordered from greatest to least persistence as follows: PR, PD, VM, CD, and CR. This specific ordering is most easily accommodated by an elaboration of stimulus-aftereffects theory. (27 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Summary knowledge of results and task processing load

With the elbow flexed, compression of the human biceps brachii has been found to reduce twitch torque, with an approximately linear relationship being observed between the loss of torque and the applied pressure (up to 45 kPa). The decline in torque could no longer be demonstrated when the biceps muscle was stretched, by extending the elbow from a flexed position. The loss of torque in the flexed position appeared to be due to an inability of muscle sarcomeres to bulge sufficiently to take up the series elasticity at the fiber ends.     

Functional reorganization of the rat motor cortex following motor skill learning

Functional reorganization of the rat motor cortex following motor skill learning. J. Neurophysiol. 80: 3321-3325, 1998. Adult rats were allocated to either a skilled or unskilled reaching condition (SRC and URC, respectively). SRC animals were trained for 10 days on a skilled reaching task while URC animals were trained on a simple bar pressing task. After training, microelectrode stimulation was used to derive high resolution maps of the forelimb and hindlimb representations within the motor cortex. In comparison with URC animals, SRC animals exhibited a significant increase in mean area of the wrist and digit representations but a decrease in elbow/shoulder representation within the caudal forelimb area. No between-group differences in areal representation were found in either the hindlimb or rostral forelimb areas. These results demonstrate that motor skill learning is associated with a reorganization of movement representations within the rodent motor cortex.