Task Duration in Contextual Interference

2002 ◽  
Vol 95 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1155-1162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. K. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Contextual Interference ◽  
Task Characteristics ◽  
Practice Trial ◽  
Trial Duration ◽  
Task Duration ◽  
Posttest Performance ◽  
Pursuit Rotor ◽  
Angular Velocities ◽  
Duration Condition ◽  
Better Than

Duration of practice trial on a pursuit rotor task in contextual interference was investigated. Participants practiced at each of 4 angular velocities, with 24 participants completing 28 trials lasting 20 sec., and 24 participants completing 112 trials of 5 sec. Half of the participants in each trial-duration condition practiced in a blocked format and half practiced in a random format. After random practice posttest performance was better than blocked practice when practice-trial duration was 20 sec., but worse when practice-trial duration was 5 sec. This result is not consistent with theoretical explanations of the contextual interference effect and is discussed with reference to the task characteristics and demands of the pursuit rotor.

Is the Contextual Interference Effect Generalizable to Computer Games?

1997 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia A. Shewokis
Keyword(s):  
Computer Games ◽  
Sport Management ◽  
Computer Game ◽  
Contextual Interference ◽  
Task Characteristics ◽  
Interference Effects ◽  
Practice Schedule ◽  
Winter Olympics ◽  
Random Schedule ◽  
Multiple Tasks

The benefits of learning multiple tasks under an unstructured practice schedule have been extensively demonstrated in the laboratory. The purpose of the present study was to test contextual interference effects in a nonlaboratory setting using computer games as tasks. Undergraduate kinesiology and sport management majors ( N=19) played a computer game simulating the events of the winter Olympics. Participants were randomly assigned to either a Blocked or Random practice schedule, practicing 36 trials of three events. Delayed retention and transfer tests were performed after a 48-hr. retention interval. The dependent variable was time to complete an event. During transfer, participants in the Random schedule ( M = 248 sec.) were significantly faster than Blocked ( M = 263 sec.) participants. Results support and extend previous contextual interference findings. Transfer was facilitated for participants who learned the events in a Random practice order. Results are discussed in terms of the influence of task characteristics on learning.

Robots Showing Emotions

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 408-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian M. Angel-Fernandez ◽  
Andrea Bonarini
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Emotion Expression ◽  
The Body ◽  
Emotional Expressions ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Special Shape ◽  
Social Agents ◽  
Angular Velocities ◽  
Better Than

Abstract Robots should be able to represent emotional states to interact with people as social agents. There are cases where robots cannot have bio-inspired bodies, for instance because the task to be performed requires a special shape, as in the case of home cleaners, package carriers, and many others. In these cases, emotional states have to be represented by exploiting movements of the body. In this paper, we present a set of case studies aimed at identifying specific values to convey emotion trough changes in linear and angular velocities, which might be applied on different non-anthropomorphic bodies. This work originates from some of the most considered emotion expression theories and from emotion coding for people. We show that people can recognize some emotional expressions better than others, and we propose some directions to express emotions exploiting only bio-neutral movement.

The Effect of Trial Duration on Single-Limb Stance Postural Control Measures

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 32-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cameron Powden ◽  
Matthew Hoch
Keyword(s):  
Postural Control ◽  
Outcome Measures ◽  
Force Plate ◽  
Healthy Adults ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Practice Trial ◽  
Trial Duration ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Eyes Open ◽  
Main Effects

Context:Currently, there are limited guidelines for the trial duration of quiet single-limb postural control tests. However, trial duration may influence the results of postural control assessments.Objective:To examine the effect of trial duration on instrumented measures of postural control in healthy adults.Design:Cross-sectional.Setting:Laboratory.Patients or Other Participants:Ten healthy adults (eight females, two males; age = 22.1 ± 1.5 years; 167.4 ± 9.3 cm; 67.4 ± 12.3 kg).Interventions:Static postural control was assessed using quiet single-limb stance on a force plate. With eyes open and closed, participants stood barefoot on one limb. Instructions were stand with hands on hips and remain as motionless as possible. A practice trial was performed before the collection of three 10 s trials on each limb for each visual condition. The data collected during each trial were analyzed as the initial 2.5 s, the initial 5 s, and 10 s.Main outcome Measures:The independent variables included vision, limb, and trial duration. The dependent variables included postural control examined using time-to-boundary (TTB) variables: mean of TTB minima (TTB-M) and the standard deviation of TTB minima (TTB-SD) in the anterior-posterior (AP) and medial-lateral (ML) directions.Results:No significant 3-way or 2-way interactions or limb main effects were identified. Main effects were identified for vision and trial duration in all TTB variables. Post hoc analysis revealed significant differences between all trial durations in all TTB variables.conclusions:Greater TTB values were exhibited during the 10 s trial durations compared with 5 s and 2.5 s, and 5 s trial durations compared with 2.5 s, indicating postural control improved with longer trial durations. This suggests differing aspects of postural control may be examined with different trial durations.

Effects of Contextual Interference, Task Difficulty, and Levels of Processing on Pursuit Tracking

1983 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 619-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Whitehurst ◽  
Patricia Del Rey
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Contextual Interference ◽  
Numerical Code ◽  
Target Area ◽  
Transfer Trial ◽  
Pursuit Rotor ◽  
Pursuit Tracking ◽  
Initial Stage ◽  
Sports Skills

Based on an activity questionnaire, 48 females without experience in open sports skills were selected to track a moving light beam through either a circle, square, or triangular target area on a pursuit rotor. Contextual interference was created by presenting 5 velocities in either a random or a blocked context during acquisition. Level of processing was manipulated by having half of all subjects classify acquisition velocities by a predetermined numerical code. Time-on-target (TOT) was measured after each acquisition, retention, and transfer trial. Subjects tracking the circle produced higher TOTs than those who tracked the square or triangle (which did not differ from one another) across all three phases of the experiment; blocked and random acquisition groups were not significantly different from one another in acquisition, retention, or transfer. Subjects who classified acquisition velocities and tracked the circle under the blocked acquisition context produced significantly higher retention scores than those who tracked the circle but did not classify acquisition velocities. Transfer was facilitated for subjects who tracked the triangle in a random transfer context and classified velocities during acquisition. Results were discussed as providing support for the manipulation of the level of cognitive processing during the initial stage of learning. In addition, manipulating task difficulty was discussed.

Task Characteristics and the Contextual Interference Effect

2011 ◽  
Vol 113 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Darren Kruisselbrink ◽  
Geraldine H. Van Gyn
Keyword(s):  
Interference Effect ◽  
Contextual Interference ◽  
Task Characteristics

Dissociated Contextual Interference Effects in Children and Adults

1997 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 851-858 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara J. Pollock ◽  
Timothy D. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Contextual Interference ◽  
Interference Effects ◽  
Random Group ◽  
Theoretical Issues ◽  
Better Than

24 7-yr.-old children and 24 university-age adults practiced a ballistic aiming task under either low contextual interference (blocked practice) or high contextual interference (random practice). All subjects performed 90 acquisition trials, followed by 20 transfer trials and 15 retention trials. Similar to previous findings, the adults performed the acquisition trials better under blocked than under random conditions, yet performed the retention and transfer tests better after random than blocked practice. No differences in acquisition were found between blocked and random practice conditions for the children; nevertheless, the random group performed the retention and transfer tests better than the blocked group. The results are discussed in relation to applied and theoretical issues of contextual interference.

Effects of Cognitive Processes and Task Complexity on Acquisition, Retention, and Transfer of Motor Skills

2001 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 255-264
Author(s):  
Tal Jarus ◽  
Tzipi Gutman
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Motor Skills ◽  
Task Complexity ◽  
Contextual Interference ◽  
The Other ◽  
Complex Task ◽  
Simple Task ◽  
Practice Schedule ◽  
Cognitive Problem ◽  
Better Than

This experiment was designed to investigate the effect of cognitive problem-solving operations (termed contextual interference) and complexity of tasks on the acquisition retention and transfer of motor skills. Ninety-six children, ages 7.5-9.5 practised the task of throwing beanbags under either low contextual interference (blocked practice), high contextual interference (random practice) or medium contextual interference (combined practice). Half of the participants acquired a complex task and the other half a simple task. All participants performed 30 acquisition trials, 9 retention trials and 4 transfer trials. Results indicated that participants who practised in the blocked practice group did not differ in their performance whether they acquired complex or simple tasks. On the other hand, participants from the random and combined practice groups who acquired simple tasks performed better than those who acquired complex tasks. These findings support the hypothesis that there is a limit to the interference during practice that will benefit retention and transfer, thus creating the contextual interference effect. It seems that the complex-task condition combined with random or combined practice schedule increased the difficulty of acquisition, possibly impeding the cognitive processing during acquisition, thus impairing the learning process.

Continuously Awake versus Suddenly Awakened Alert Crews: When Do You Want Your Decrement?

1980 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 665-667
Author(s):  
William F. Storm ◽  
Russell A. Benel
Keyword(s):  
Test Performance ◽  
Task Characteristics ◽  
Oral Temperature ◽  
Subjective Ratings ◽  
Future Performance ◽  
Performance Requirements ◽  
Posttest Performance ◽  
Performance Figure ◽  
Performance Error ◽  
Mode Tracking

Previous research on “alert” crew performance under sudden arousal from sleep indicated performance decrements would persist for varying periods of time depending on task characteristics. These studies did not, however, address the alternative of continuously awake crews. Twelve males performed a dual axis, compensatory tracking task under two modes of standby alertness–continuously awake vs sleep-alert. Performance, oral temperature, and subjective ratings of fatigue were acquired during three intervals: pretest, 2000–2200; test, 0200–0400; and posttest, 0800–1000. For the awake mode the test performance in the middle of the night was indistinguishable from the pretest performance, but the posttest performance was markedly worse. For the sleep-alert mode tracking performance was noticeably degraded following sudden awakening, but posttest performance was virtually identical to pretest performance (Figure 1). From the pretest to the test interval, oral temperature decreased to a much greater extent for the sleep-alert mode than for the continuously awake mode (Figure 2). Under both modes, feelings of subjective fatigue increased from pretest to test intervals. At posttest, even greater fatigue was reported for the continuously awake mode, while some recovery was reported for the sleep-alert mode (Figure 3). For alert duty one must consider probability of required performance, error tolerances, and future performance requirements prior to scheduling decisions.

Win-Shift, Lose-Stay: Contingent Switching and Contextual Interference in Motor Learning

2008 ◽  
Vol 107 (2) ◽  
pp. 407-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic A. Simon ◽  
Timothy D. Lee ◽  
John D. Cullen
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Retention Test ◽  
Contextual Interference ◽  
Target Movement ◽  
Random Group ◽  
Target Time ◽  
Practice Schedules ◽  
Random Groups ◽  
Better Than

Learners ( n = 48) practiced three multisegment movements with distinct target movement times. Four practice groups were compared: blocked, random, and two groups who had a win-shift/lose-stay schedule (WSLS1 and WSLS2). For these latter groups switching between practice tasks was performance-contingent: within 5% of target time for 1 or 2 consecutive trials, respectively. During acquisition, blocked performance was more accurate than for both random and WSLS2 groups. The WSLS1 group performed between blocked and random groups, but did not differ from either. In a next-day retention test, the random group scored better than the blocked group. The WSLS1 group performed similarly to the random practice while the WSLS2 group's scores were similar to those of the blocked group. Results encourage further study of similar practice schedules.

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