How do you want to learn a new strategy? Athlete preferences for model demonstration characteristics

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine athletes' preferences for specific demonstration characteristics when employing the strategy function of observational learning. Athletes consistently report that learning strategies is the second most common reason for using observational learning (Cumming et al., 2005; Law & Hall, 2009; Wesch et al., 2007), yet research has focused on skill-based demonstrations (McCullagh & Weiss, 2001) and lacks insight into the process of learning strategies. Athletes (N = 488) competing at recreational through elite levels self-reported their preferences when observing a model to learn a new strategy along the following dimensions: modality, focus of attention, speed, angle, model type, skill level, and similarity. MANOVA analyses revealed that gender and previous competitive experience interact to influence athletes' preferences for viewing live and video-based models, slow motion versus real-time demonstrations, and for specific viewing angles. Main effects for gender indicated that females preferred viewing highly skilled models and males preferred models of the same gender. As well, main effects for competitive level showed that club level athletes prefer viewing all aspects of a strategy and fast motion demonstrations; varsity athletes prefer self-modeling and viewing elite models; and recreational athletes prefer viewing skilled recreational athletes. These findings have implications for intervention design and interpreting the effectiveness of strategy-based modeling experiences.