Progressive Speed Practice in Learning a Continuous Motor Skill

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of progressive and gradually increasing speed practice on motor skill acquisition using the pursuit rotor. Subjects in the three treatment groups were given 2 days of practice at gradually increasing speeds while the control group practiced at the criterion speed. On the third day all groups performed 12 transfer trials at the criterion speed. Randomized ANOVA and Treatment X Subjects analysis were computed on the last nine transfer trials. No significant differences were observed among the groups for any of the transfer trials. There was no significant improvement in performance within groups during transfer trials. These findings suggest that the appropriate spatial and temporal organization necessary to perform a continuous motor task can be acquired as efficiently through a gradual and progressive increase in speed as through a program of constant practice at the criterion speed.