Contextual dependencies : the roles of practice and attention /
Two factors that were thought to affect the impact of contextual information for perceptual-motor learning were examined. Both practice length and the allocation of mental resources were found to impact the effect of changing contextual information that was presented simultaneously with an intention...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
[Place of publication not identified] :
[publisher not identified] ;
2000.
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://proxy.library.tamu.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=731990161&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=2945&RQT=309&VName=PQD |
| Summary: | Two factors that were thought to affect the impact of contextual information for perceptual-motor learning were examined. Both practice length and the allocation of mental resources were found to impact the effect of changing contextual information that was presented simultaneously with an intentional cue throughout practice. Specifically, a two-choice reaction time task was practiced for either 96 or 192 trials, with an incidental cue accompanying an intentional cue throughout acquisition. Longer practice resulted in a magnified effect of switching the incidental cue in an immediate retention test, compared to the shorter practice session, as measured by response latency. It was concluded that as practice became longer, more mental resources became available to learners with which to attend to the incidental information. Experiment 2 tested this proposal by adding a secondary task to a long practice session in order to increase the mental resources needed by the learner. It was thought that increasing the cognitive load during acquisition lending would prevent learning about the incidental cue, as measured by response latency in a switched incidental cue test condition. The findings of Experiment 2 not only supported this proposal, but also served to replicate the findings of Experiment 1. Interestingly, the ability to verbalize about the relationships between the intentional cues, incidental cues, and responses did not affect the degree of dependence on context. Both experiments were designed in reference to the Shea & Wright (1995) model for contextual dependencies in perceptual-motor learning, and the author suggests the addition of some mediating variables to the model. |
|---|---|
| Item Description: | Vita. "Major Subject: Kinesiology". |
| Physical Description: | x, 122 leaves : illustrations ; 28 cm. Issued also on microfiche from University Microfilm Inc. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 113-117). |