Structural Organization of Practice: Effects of Practicing Under Different Informational Constraints on the Acquisition of One-Handed Catching Skill

The question addressed in this study was the effects of the manipulation of the informational constraints of practice conditions on the acquisition of one-handed catching skill. Three groups of poor catchers (8 participants per group) practiced in either a normal-light, ball-only, or interspersed ball-only and normal-light condition (N = 450 trials). All groups exhibited a significant improvement in the number of catches and catching score and a reduction in the number of misses by the end of practice. The structural organization of the practice conditions had a significant effect on catching performance. Practicing in the interspersed condition had a positive residual effect on subjects' performance in normal light. Similarly, there was a positive residual effect of practicing in the ball-only and the interspersed conditions on subjects' normal-light, posttest performance. The findings are interpreted as support for the argument that practicing under varying informational constraints can benefit skill acquisition by directing the subjects' search toward relevant sources of information.