Cognitive effort has been identified as the basis of the contectual interference (Cl)
effect (Lee, Swinnen, & Serrien, 1994). It has been argued that higher levels of cognitive
activity related to either the evaluation of movement information (encoding) or the
retrieval of movement plans are demanded by the conditions of random rather than
blocked practice. Current theories of skill acquisition appear to more heavily emphasize
evaluative/encoding than retrieval processes. Furthermore, a review of evidence from
research on the knowledge of results (KR) and observational learning implicates the
critical role of evaluative processes as well. A series of three experiments was designed to
(a) test the isomorphism of evaluative processes and cognitive effort within the contextual
interference paradigm, and (b) use the Cl phenomenon as a way to explore the more
general role of evaluative processes in motor skill acquisition.
The typical Cl effect was replicated in Experiment 1 using three spatial variations
of a multi-segment arm movement task. However, this experiment featured the co-occurrence
of differential demands for both encoding variability and retrieval practice. In
Experiment 2, one of the variations from Experiment 1 was practiced within the context of
two unrelated video games. The results showed that no acquisition or retention
performance differences emerged between blocked and random practice groups. These
results suggest that the role of retrieval practice as the basis of the Cl effect should be
questioned.
Experiment 3 A replicated Experiment 1 with pans of blocked and random groups.
In Experiment 3B, using a second set of three spatial variations, an attempt was made to
reduce differential encoding variability while keeping differential retrieval practice intact
between one pair of blocked and random groups (verbalize groups). The blocked group
was required to evaluate and associate the features of each pattern variation during the
acquisition phase, and to verbalize their thoughts. A random group was also required to
verbalize the cognitive strategies they used to learn the patterns. The co-occurrence of
differential encoding variability and retrieval was maintained for the remaining pair of
blocked and random groups (control groups). The results of Experiment 1 were replicated
in Experiment 3A and by the control groups in Experiment 3B. In Experiment 3B,
relative retention and retention performance improved to a greater extent for the blocked verbalize than the blocked control group. However, relative retention and retention
performance were not similar between the blocked verbalize and random groups,
indicating that the evaluation of pattern variations in isolation does not appear to be an
effective intervention with which to reduce the demands for differential encoding
variability between blocked and random groups.
Analysis of qualitative data obtained in Experiment 3B indicated differences
between blocked and random groups in the degree to which the features of the spatial
patterns were compared, suggesting that information derived from single task evaluation
may not be equivalent to the information derived from multiple task comparison. Results
are discussed within Glenberg's (1979) component levels theory.
Insight into the nature of the cognitive processes underlying the Cl effect may have implications for a general explanation of motor skill acquisition. The relationship between
cognitive effort, the development of knowledge, and skill acquisition is outlined in a
preliminary framework for a unified theory of skill acquisition. The ability of the proposed
framework to incorporate a range of experimental data and theoretical views is discussed. / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uvic.ca/oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/8997 |
| Date | 22 January 2018 |
| Creators | Kruisselbrink, Leroy |
| Contributors | Van Gyn, G. H. |
| Source Sets | University of Victoria |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | Available to the World Wide Web |
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