Abstract
Studies of implicit motor learning typically use a protocol that consists of progressively more difficult versions of the task during practice (see Poolton & Zachry, 2007 for review). The current experiment compared various types of practice progressions in order to assess their influence on transfer and dual-task . Forty young adults were asked to propel a 3cm disc to a series of targets projected onto a table top. Four experimental groups were included to examine the roles of task difficulty, progression of targets and the position of a transfer and/or dual-task target in relation to the practice targets. We found important effects for task difficulty and the position of a dual-task target in relation to practice targets. Practice to easier (closer) targets produced significantly more error from immediate to delayed transfer, compared to practice with more difficult (farther) targets regardless of the progression followed. This finding suggests an advantage of more difficult practice for transfer to an unpracticed easier target. Practice that started closest to the target used in dual-task tests produced more stable performance on these dual-task tests, compared to those that began with targets farthest from the dual-task test target. These findings provided partial support for the role of implicit learning conditions in practice.Acknowledgments: This study was supported by NSERC