The relationship between types of feedback, gain of a display and feedback precision in acquisition of a simple motor task

Three experiments are reported which investigate the role of concurrent and terminal feedback in the acquisition of a discrete positioning task. Experiments I and II compare the efficiency of concurrent visual feedback (CVF) and terminal visual feedback (TVF) as training methods when the gain of the visual display is varied from 1:1 to 4:1. There is a consistent interaction between feedback method and gain of the display over the recall trials. Concurrent visual feedback is inferior to terminal visual feedback at a gain of 4:1 in Experiment I and when the displayed and actual movement directions differ (Experiment II). Experiment III explores the relationship between concurrent and terminal feedback when feedback is of a digital form and its precision is varied. Concurrent feedback is worse as a training method although there is no interaction between feedback method and precision of feedback. These findings are discussed in the light of a variety of factors which could contribute to the inferiority of concurrent feedback as a training method.