The effects of different frequencies on model presentation on the acquisition, retention, and transfer of an applied motor skill

The major purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of different frequencies of model presentation on the acquisition, retention, and transfer of an applied motor skill. The applied skill selected for this study was the badminton long serve. Subjects were randomly assigned to groups and received three different frequencies of model presentation during acquisition trials, a) one observation of the model at the beginning of the acquisition period (OT), b) an initial observation followed by self-selected observation (SS), and c) observation of the model prior to each acquisition trial (ET). A fourth group (TC) received three days of acquisition trials on the badminton short serve and was used as a control group to assess the amount of transfer of the experimental groups to the short serve on Day 4. The experiment was conducted in four phases, a) an acquisition phase in which all subjects practiced the badminton long serve (deuce court) under their assigned modeling conditions, b) a retention phase in which all modeling conditions were tested on the long serve (deuce court), c) a high-similarity transfer phase in which experimental subjects attempted the badminton long serve from the opposite (ad) service court, and d) a low-similarity transfer phase in which experimental subjects attempted the badminton short serve (deuce court). The dependent variables used in the experiment were accuracy scores and form scores. Accuracy scores were determined from the landing position of the shuttle on a grid and were recorded for all trials in all phases. Form scores were determined from judges' ratings of preselected videotaped trials. The results of the present study suggest that the frequency of model observations and the timing of the model presentations during learning trials affects the acquisition, retention, and transfer of an applied motor skill. In the acquisition phase of the present experiment Groups SS and ET increased their mean accuracy scores across days while the accuracy performance of Group OT increased between the first and second days but leveled off between the second and third days. The mean accuracy scores for Group SS were greater than those for the other groups on each day of acquisition. These findings seem to suggest that not only does increased frequency of model presentation enhance performance outcomes more than does a single presentation of the model at the beginning of acquisition, but also that the timing of model presentation within the acquisition period may be more critical than the frequency.