Acquisition of motor skill: II. Rotary pursuit performance with continuous practice before and after a single rest.

Abstract

A-represents the curve of performance if no rest had been introduced. In the following study, straight lines were fitted to the pre-rest performance curves by the method of average decrement. 1 Only in the case of the 8-and ly-min. pre-rest practice groups did there appear to be sufficient points on which to base individual equations for line A. Fig. 2 gives two mean prerest performance curves-one for the 98 Ss in the 8-min. and one for the 98 Ss in the 17-min. pre-rest practice group. A linear equation was fitted to each by the method of average decrement. These two equations were then combined by averaging their slopes and assuming that the final equation ran through their mean value at 4! min. of practice. Performance (i.e., percent time spent on target) = 1.395 times (number of trials) + 6.84, fits these two curves fairly closely, and provides a baseline (A) from which to compute the various derived measures for the |-, I-, and 3-min. pre-rest practice groups. * This article is based on a dissertation presented m partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph. D. degree, State

Individual and sex differences in reminiscence

“…Although reminiscence scores are typically quite variable, the average effect appears with monotonous consistency and clarity whenever the appropriate experimental operations are conducted. As an average effect, it bears an orderly and reproducible relationship to various antecedent conditions such as the length of the rest period (Kimble & Horenstein, 1948) and the amount of prerest practice (Ammons, 1947;Irion, 1949). Its empirical status is well established and seemingly unassailable.…”

The effect of need for achievement and normative information on rotary pursuit performance

“…The phenomena of decrement and remmlscence have traditionally been explained as being due to the development and dissipation of fatigue Iike states such as reactive inhibition (Hull, 1943;Ammons, 1947). In the series of studies preceding this experiment, Catalano has shown that another factor that may very weil play a part in both decrement and reminiscence is the change of arousal level that very likely OCCUTS when conditions of alternating massed practice and rest are employed.…”

Psychomotor reminiscence as a function of sex and amount of prerest practice

“…Quite apart from the bearing of these results upon the sex difference, they also enhance the credibility of the inhibition hypothesis per se by showing that reminiscence was best described as a negatively accelerated increasing function of the amount of prerest practice. However, lest confidence get out of hand, one should recall that previous studies of this function have suggested that reminiscence may decline somewhat when prerest practice extends beyond about 8 min (Ammons, 1947;Irion, 1949). Whether the observed falloff was a significant departure from expectation one cannot say, for no trend analyses were performed and no test of the simple effect was provided.…”

“…The values of the asymptotic parameters of these functions were estimated in part from previous studies (e.g., McBride & Payne, 1979), and the values of the rate parameters were assumed to be equal for the sexes and sufficiently large to produce an early rapid rise toward asymptotic levels, as suggested by the data of Ammons (1947).…”

“…It involved an experimental arrangement in which the amount of continuous prerest practice was varied while the length of the rest period was held constant, an arrangement used in Ammons (1947) and Irion (1949). If it is assumed that there is an exponential growth of IR across practice, as Hull (1952) implied in his final treatment of the concept, the theory predicts (1) that reminiscence increases as a negatively accelerated function of the amount of continuous prerest practice, (2) that females reach a higher asymptotic level of reminiscence than males do and (3) that females gain less proficiency across prerest trials than males do (owing to the females' relatively greater burden of IR)'…”