Effects of Precision of Information Feedback upon Acquisition of a Motor Skill

Abstract

Forty-five subjects were randomly assigned to three groups of 15 each. Each subject attempted to deliver a duckpin bowling ball at a specified velocity equal to 70% of his maximum velocity. The velocity objective was given in seconds and hundreths-of-a-second, and each subject performed 60 trials under conditions of repetitive trial presentation with an intertrial interval of 50 sec. The experimenter verbally presented information feedback (IF) immediately after each delivery. Three experimental conditions involved: (a) quantitative IF accurate to hundreths-of-a-second; (b) quantitative IF accurate to tenths-of-a-second; and (c) qualitative IF. The findings indicated that practice involving more precise IF (quantitative IF) results in a significantly higher level of performance than less precise IF (qualitative IF). Also, there is an optimum precision of IF beyond which additional exactness will not enhance motor skill acquisition.