Knowledge of Results for Motor Learning: Relationship Between Error Estimation and Knowledge of Results Frequency

The authors of the present study investigated the apparent contradiction between early and more recent views of knowledge of results (KR), the idea that how one is engaged before receiving KR may not be independent of how one uses that KR. In a 2 × 2 factorial design, participants (N = 64) practiced a simple force-production task and (a) were required, or not required, to estimate error about their previous response and (b) were provided KR either after every response (100%) or after every 5th response (20%) during acquisition. A no-KR retention test revealed an interaction between acquisition error estimation and KR frequencies. The group that received 100% KR and was required to error estimate during acquisition performed the best during retention. The 2 groups that received 20% KR performed less well. Finally, the group that received 100% KR and was not required to error estimate during acquisition performed the poorest during retention. One general interpretation of that pattern of results is that motor learning is an increasing function of the degree to which participants use KR to test response hypotheses (J. A. Adams, 1971; R. A. Schmidt, 1975). Practicing simple responses coupled with error estimation may embody response hypotheses that can be tested with KR, thus benefiting motor learning most under a 100% KR condition. Practicing simple responses without error estimation is less likely to embody response hypothesis, however, which may increase the probability that participants will use KR to guide upcoming responses, thus attenuating motor learning under a 100% KR condition. The authors conclude, therefore, that how one is engaged before receiving KR may not be independent of how one uses KR.     

A Note on Motor Learning Without Post-Response Knowledge of Results

The authors studied the adjustment of the 2 distinct known expressions of gait velocity, the velocity of the center of gravity (CG) and the velocity of the center of foot pressure (CP) at the end of the 1st step in 2 experimental situations: natural gait initiation (the control situation, CS) and heel-off gait initiation (the test situation, TS). Gait was initiated by 7 healthy participants, from an erect spontaneous posture in the CS and from a posture with heels raised in the TS, on a force platform at 3 self-selected speed conditions. Biomechanical data from the force platform were collected in both experimental situations, and the authors used a particular gait analysis based on the differential method of Y. Brenière (2003) in order to approach velocity modulation by means of step length and frequency. Results showed that CG and CP velocities were adjusted differently during heel-off gait initiation than during natural gait initiation. CP velocity, as compared with CG velocity, was overestimated in TS. Results also established the relevance of the expression of step velocity by means of step length and frequency: The central nervous system, taking into account the specific postural constraints of each experimental situation, uses a reference value and a regulating parameter to modulate step velocity. Moreover, the contributions of 1st step length and frequency to the expression of step velocity in TS and CS were different. Thus, a specific locomotor behavior corresponds to a given experimental situation that is characterized by its own initial biomechanical constraints.     

The Scheduling of Knowledge of Results

The experiments outlined in this article were performed so that the acquisition effects of KR scheduling on no-KR retention could be determined. In Experiment 1, the group that alternated between 12 KR and 12 no-KR responses produced better retention than both the group that alternated between 6 KR and 6 no-KR responses and an all-KR group. The partial KR group that performed the best on retention also received the least number of reversals from KR to no-KR responses, however. In Experiment 2, when acquisition KR reversals ere held constant for partial KR groups, groups that received either random KR scheduling or all KR produced similar and better retention that groups who received blocked KR scheduling. These results were reconciled with KR frequency experiments by proposing that memory processes invoked by KR protocols decrease from KR frequency, to reversal, to scheduling conditions.     

外显知识对运动技能内隐学习的影响

总结了近年来关于外显知识对运动技能内隐学习影响的研究。提出外显知识对内隐学习存在影响,但其作用的大小及其性质取决于外显知识的呈现时间、内容、内隐规则的可觉察程度、认知负荷以及压力等因素。提供外显知识既可能有利于任务的完成,也可能激发与任务规则无关的注意过程,阻碍内隐学习。外显知识可影响行为,却不一定能被有意识地提取。外显知识对学习者的认知过程和动作模式均会产生影响。     

Motor Learning Without Knowledge of Results Through the Development of a Response Recognition Mechanism

Four experiments were conducted to investigate the ability of a response recognition mechanism, developed by presenting the sensory consequences associated with the criterion movement in the absence of actual movement recall, to produce motor learning in the absence of knowledge of results (KR). In Experiments 1 and 2, a rapid linear timing task was used (10.16 cm in 100 msec), and reduction of movement error resulted over no-KR practice trials. Experiments 3 and 4 employed a slow movement-time task (750 and 1250 msec) and a linear positioning task, respectively, and no reduction of movement error occurred over the no-KR practice trials in either experiment. The ability of the response recognition mechanism to produce motor learning in the absence of KR depended upon the extent to which feedback could be used during response production.     

Students' Coordination of Knowledge When Learning to Model Physical Situations

In this article, I present a study in which 12 pairs of 8th-grade students solved problems about a physical device with algebra. The device, called a winch, instantiates motions that can be modeled by pairs of simultaneous linear functions. The following question motivated the study: How can students generate algebraic models without direct instruction from more experienced others? The first main result of the study is that students have and can use criteria for judging when 1 algebraic expression is better than another. Thus, students can use criteria to regulate their problem-solving activity. The second main result is that constructing knowledge for modeling with algebra can require students to coordinate criteria for algebraic representations with several other types of knowledge that I also identify in the article. These results contribute to research on students' algebraic modeling, cognitive processes and knowledge structures for using mathematical representations, and the development of mathematical knowledge.     

Reducing Knowledge of Results about Relative versus Absolute Timing: Differential Effects on Learning

The purpose of the present experiment was to examine further earlier suggestions that a reduced relative frequency of knowledge of results (KR) can enhance the learning of generalized motor programs (GMPs) but at the same time degrade parameter learning, compared with giving KR after every trial (Wulf & Schmidt, 1989; Wulf, Schmidt, & Deubel, 1993). In contrast to these earlier studies, here KR was given separately for relative timing and absolute timing. Subjects practiced three movement patterns that required the same relative timing but different absolute movement times. KR was provided on 100% or 50% of the practice trials for relative timing or absolute timing, respectively. In retention and transfer tests, the groups that had had 50% KR about relative timing demonstrated more effective learning of the relative-timing structure, that is, GMP learning, than the groups that had had 100% KR about relative timing. The KR frequency had no effect on parameterization during retention; yet, when transfer to a task with a novel overall duration was required, the groups given 100% KR about absolute timing were more accurate in parameterization than the groups provided with 50% KR about absolute timing. Thus, the reduced relative KR frequency enhanced GMP learning but had no beneficial effect, or even a degrading effect, on parameter learning. The differential effects of a reduced KR frequency on the learning of relative timing and absolute timing also provide additional support for the dissociation of GMP and parameterization processes.     

Reducing Knowledge of Results About Relative Versus Absolute Timing: Differential Effects on Learning

The purpose of the present experiment was to examine further earlier suggestions that a reduced relative frequency of knowledge of results (KR) can enhance the learning of generalized motor programs (GMPs) but at the same time degrade parameter learning, compared with giving KR after every trial (Wulf & Schmidt, 1989; Wulf, Schmidt, & Deubel, 1993). In contrast to these earlier studies, here KR was given separately for relative timing and absolute timing. Subjects practiced three movement patterns that required the same relative timing but different absolute movement times. KR was provided on 100% or 50% of the practice trials for relative timing or absolute timing, respectively. In retention and transfer tests, the groups that had had 50% KR about relative timing demonstrated more effective learning of the relative-timing structure, that is, GMP learning, than the groups that had had 100% KR about relative timing. The KR frequency had no effect on parameterization during retention; yet, when transfer to a task with a novel overall duration was required, the groups given 100% KR about absolute timing were more accurate in parameterization than the groups provided with 50% KR about absolute timing. Thus, the reduced relative KR frequency enhanced GMP learning but had no beneficial effect, or even a degrading effect, on parameter learning. The differential effects of a reduced KR frequency on the learning of relative timing and absolute timing also provide additional support for the dissociation of GMP and parameterization processes.     

Retroaction and Gains in Motor Learning: III. Evaluation of Results

(O. S. S. STAFF. Assessment of Men. New York: Rinehart, 1948. Pp. 541.) Reviewed By Cecil A. Gibb     

运动知识与概念知识概率学习下的内隐学习效应

研究采用序列学习范式,用反应时间接测量被试的内隐知识,问卷以及再认成绩直接测量被试的外显知识,并采用PDP测量被试的意识与无意识贡献率.结果表明:(1)无RSI条件下能习得一定的无意识知识,而在有RSI条件下习得的知识大部分能被外显地意识到.(2)当内隐序列学习中既包含运动知识又包含概念知识时,无RSI条件下易获得运动知识;而在有RSI条件下,如果时间充分且能协调注意资源,运动知识和概念知识均能有效学习.     

Gaze Aversion During Children's Transient Knowledge and Learning

Looking away from an interlocutor's face during demanding cognitive activity can help adults and children answer challenging mental arithmetic and verbal-reasoning questions (Glenberg, Schroeder, & Robertson, 1998 Glenberg, A. M., Schroeder, J. L. and Robertson, D. A. 1998. Averting the gaze disengages the environment and facilitates remembering. Memory and Cognition, 26: 651–658. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Phelps, Doherty-Sneddon, & Warnock, 2006 Phelps, F., Doherty-Sneddon, G. and Warnock, H. 2006. Functional benefits of children's gaze aversion during questioning. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 24: 577–588. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). While such “gaze aversion” (GA) is used far less by 5-year-old school children, its use increases dramatically during the first years of primary education, reaching adult levels by 8 years of age (Doherty-Sneddon, Bruce, Bonner, Longbotham, & Doyle, 2002 Doherty-Sneddon, G., Bruce, V., Bonner, L., Longbotham, S. and Doyle, C. 2002. Development of gaze aversion as disengagement from visual information. Developmental Psychology, 38: 438–445. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Furthermore, GA increases with increasing mental demands, with high levels signalling that an individual finds material being discussed challenging but remains engaged with it (Doherty-Sneddon et al., 2002 Doherty-Sneddon, G., Bruce, V., Bonner, L., Longbotham, S. and Doyle, C. 2002. Development of gaze aversion as disengagement from visual information. Developmental Psychology, 38: 438–445. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Doherty-Sneddon & Phelps, 2005 Doherty-Sneddon, G. and Phelps, F. 2005. Gaze aversion: A solution to cognitive or social difficulty?. Memory and Cognition, 33: 727–733. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). In the current study we investigate whether patterns of gaze and gaze aversion during children's explanations can predict when they are in states of transient knowledge (Karmiloff-Smith 1992 Karmiloff-Smith, A. 1992. Beyond modularity: A developmental perspective on cognitive science, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.  [Google Scholar]; Goldin-Meadow, Kim, & Singer, 1999 Goldin-Meadow, S., Kim, S. and Singer, M. 1999. What the teacher's hands tell the student's mind about math. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91: 720–730. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). In Study 1, thirty-three 6-year-old children completed a balance beam task (Pine & Messer, 2000 Pine, K. J. and Messer, D. 2000. The effects of explaining another's actions on children's implicit theories of balance. Cognition and Instruction, 18: 37–54. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). Children who improved the representational level of their explanations (Karmiloff-Smith, 1992 Karmiloff-Smith, A. 1992. Beyond modularity: A developmental perspective on cognitive science, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.  [Google Scholar]) of this task with training used more GA than those who did not. Practical implications for teaching and for recognizing transient knowledge states are discussed. In Study 2, fifty-nine 6-year-olds took part and completed a “Time Task” along with periodic teaching intervention to improve their comprehension of telling the time. Some children improved immediately, whereas others did so more gradually. The gradual improvers showed the highest levels of GA, particularly when they were at an intermediate level of performance.     

Cognitive Load During Problem Solving: Effects on Learning

Considerable evidence indicates that domain specific knowledge in the form of schemas is the primary factor distinguishing experts from novices in problem-solving skill. Evidence that conventional problem-solving activity is not effective in schema acquisition is also accumulating. It is suggested that a major reason for the ineffectiveness of problem solving as a learning device, is that the cognitive processes required by the two activities overlap insufficiently, and that conventional problem solving in the form of means-ends analysis requires a relatively large amount of cognitive processing capacity which is consequently unavailable for schema acquisition. A computational model and experimental evidence provide support for this contention. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Contextual Interference in Motor Learning: Dissociated Effects Due to the Nature of Task Variations

The contextual interference effect in motor learning refers to the interference that results from practising a task within the concept of other tasks in a practice session. Several studies have shown that practice under conditions of high contextual interference (i.e. with a random practice order) degrades performance during acquisition trials, compared to low contextual interference conditions (i.e. with a blocked order, where practice is completed on one task before practice on another task is undertaken). In contrast to acquisition performance, random practice usually leads to more effective learning than blocked practice, as measured by retention and transfer tests. One of the hypotheses regarding the effect suggests that a random practice schedule induces more extensive planning operations during practice than a blocked practice condition. If so, then differences between these two conditions should emerge to the degree that the set of tasks requires complete reconstruction of these planning operations on each trial. To address this issue, we compared four groups of subjects: a blocked and random group that practised three timing tasks that shared a common characteristic (same relative timing), and a blocked and random group that practised three tasks that each had different relative timing structures. Subjects practised these tasks on each of two days, with a retention test and two transfer tests that required either a relative timing structure that had been practised previously or had not previously been practised. No random/ blocked differences occurred regardless of the relative timing of the patterns during acquisition or retention. However, for both transfer tests, random practice enhanced learning only for the group that had practised with tasks that each had different relative timing during acquisition. Implications of these results for an explanation of contextual interference are discussed.     

Dependence on Visual Feedback During Motor Skill Learning in Alzheimer's Disease

Three experiments examined the role of visual feedback on the performance of a fine motor task, namely the rotary pursuit, in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and healthy older adults. After extensive practice tracking a fully visible target, participants in Experiments 1 and 2 were tested under restricted vision (RV) conditions. In both experiments, the two groups showed a drop in performance when vision was restricted, with AD patients showing a significantly larger decline. Tracking improved significantly in normal controls, but not AD patients across the RV trials after the initial drop. When difficulty of the rotary pursuit task was manipulated in Experiment 3 without restricting vision, AD patients and normal controls showed identical patterns of performance. Consequently, it could be concluded that AD patients in the first two experiments were relying more heavily on visual information for accurate performance of the tracking task than their healthy peers.     

阻碍效应范式中主题知识对类别学习的影响

三个实验采用阻碍效应研究范式探讨主题知识对类别学习的影响。实验1探讨定义特征维度为机械特征时,主题知识对类别学习的影响;实验2和实验3,通过考察定义特征维度为知识特征时,类别学习中阻碍效应的大小,继续探讨主题知识对类别学习的影响。实验结果发现：（1）当定义特征维度为机械特征时,主题知识的存在没有促进类别学习。这可能因为定义特征维度为机械特征,主题知识难以发现所致;（2）当定义特征维度为知识特征时,类别学习中的阻碍效应消失,证明主题知识的存在促进了类别学习。研究结果再次支持了类别学习不仅仅受到减少归类错误驱动的观点。     

Transfer of Motor Learning Engages Specific Neural Substrates During Motor Memory Consolidation Dependent on the Practice Structure

The authors investigated how brain activity during motor-memory consolidation contributes to transfer of learning to novel versions of a motor skill following distinct practice structures. They used 1 Hz repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) immediately after constant or variable practice of an arm movement skill to interfere with primary motor cortex (M1) or dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). The effect of interference was assessed through skill performance on two transfer targets: one within and one outside the range of practiced movement parameters for the variable practice group. For the control (no rTMS) group, variable practice benefited delayed transfer performance more than constant practice. The rTMS effect on delayed transfer performance differed for the two transfer targets. For the within-range target, rTMS interference had no significant affect on the delayed transfer after either practice structure. However, for the outside-range target, rTMS interference to DLPFC but not M1 attenuated delayed transfer benefit following variable practice. Additionally, for the outside-range target, rTMS interference to M1 but not DLPFC attenuated delayed transfer following constant practice. This suggests that variable practice may promote reliance on DLPFC for memory consolidation associated with outside-range transfer of learning, whereas constant practice may promote reliance on M1 for consolidation and long-term transfer.     

一致的先前知识对类别学习影响机制探讨

探讨一致的先前知识对类别学习的影响,包括2个实验。被试是112名大学生,分别探讨不同实验任务和不同项目呈现时间引发的机械特征在类别学习中的重要程度和加工程度不同的情况下先前知识对类别学习的影响。结果表明:(1)在实验任务为项目类别归属判断任务时,机械特征重要程度低,主题特征与机械特征在学习上存在竞争关系;在实验任务为项目类别归属及记忆任务时,机械特征重要程度高,主题特征与机械特征在学习上存在促进关系。(2)在限制步速呈现项目时,机械特征加工程度低,主题特征与机械特征在学习上存在竞争关系;而在自定步速呈现项目时,机械特征加工程度高,主题特征与机械特征在学习上不存在竞争关系。     

Learning to Troubleshoot: Multistrategy Learning of Diagnostic Knowledge for a Real-World Problem-Solving Task

This article presents a computational model of the learning of diagnostic knowledge, based on observations of human operators engaged in real-world troubleshooting tasks. We present a model of problem solving and learning in which the reasoner introspects about its own performance on the problem-solving task, identifies what it needs to learn to improve its performance, formulates learning goals to acquire the required knowledge, and pursues its learning goals using multiple learning strategies. The model is implemented in a computer system which provides a case study based on observations of troubleshooting operators and protocol analysis of the data gathered in the test area of an operational electronics manufacturing plant. The model not only addresses issues in human learning, but, in addition, is computationally justified as a uniform, extensible framework for multistrategy learning.     

Conscious Control Is Associated With Freezing of Mechanical Degrees of Freedom During Motor Learning

This study investigated whether conscious control is associated with freezing of mechanical degrees of freedom during motor learning. Participants practiced a throwing task using either error-strewn or error-reduced practice protocols, which encourage high or low levels of conscious control, respectively. After 24 hr, participants engaged in a series of delayed retention and transfer tests. Furthermore, propensity for conscious control was assessed using participants' ratings and freezing was gauged through movement variability of the throwing arm. Performance was defined by mean radial error. In the error-strewn group, propensity for conscious control was positively associated with both freezing and performance. In the error-reduced group, propensity for conscious control was negatively associated with performance, but not with freezing. These results suggest that conscious control is associated with freezing of mechanical degrees of freedom during motor learning.