Contextual Interference and Introversion/Extraversion in Motor Learning

Abstract

The Introversion/Extraversion dimension may interact with contextual interference, as random and blocked practice schedules imply distinct levels of variation. This study investigated the effect of different practice schedules in the acquisition of a motor skill in extraverts and introverts. Forty male undergraduate students (M = 24.3 yr., SD = 5.6) were classified as extraverts (n = 20) and introverts (n = 20) by the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and allocated in one of two practice schedules with different levels of contextual interference: blocked (low contextual interference) and random (high contextual interference). Half of each group was assigned to a blocked practice schedule, and the other half was assigned to a random practice schedule. The design had two phases: acquisition and transfer (5 min. and 24 hr.). The participants learned variations of a sequential timing keypressing task. Each variation required the same sequence but different timing; three variations were used in acquisition, and one variation of intermediate length was used in transfer. Results for absolute error and overall timing error (root mean square error) indicated that the contextual interference effect was more pronounced for introverts. In addition, introverts who practiced according to the blocked schedule committed more errors during the 24-hr. transfer, suggesting that introverts did not appear to be challenged by a low contextual interference practice schedule.

Contextual interference effects on motor skill acquisition, retention and transfer in sport rifle shooting

“…For ex ample, Wu and colleagues [2] verified better retention and transfer in the HcI group when analyzing the single joint movement of extension and flexion at the elbow. Similarly, in producing a finger tapping se quence, Meira, Fairbrother and Perez [3] also found greater results in retention tests for the HcI group. the motor skills analyzed in the present study are more complex than the simple laboratorybased tasks de scribed previously, which may explain why the cI effect was not wellestablished in our data.…”

“…Wu and colleagues [2] found greater performance and learning with higher cI practice in a laboratory task which required only elbow joint move ment. Similarly, both Meira, Fairbrother and Perez [3] and Paulwels, Swinnen and Beets [4] reported better retention levels of a motor skill when practice varied more despite poorer initial performance during the acquisition phase.…”

Personality traits and preferred exercise environment of fitness club members

“…The PE2 factor, performing new or repeated exercises, is linked to repetition and variation during the exercise. In the learning of a sequential-timing motor task, it was detected more pronounced contextual interference effects for introverts when compared to extraverts (Meira, Fairbrother, & Perez, 2015), while introverted elderly women showed worse speed-accuracy tradeoff performance than their introverted counterparts (Meira, Moraes, Moura, Ávila, Tosini, & Magalhaes, 2018). Both studies implied handling variations of a motor task, which were for introverts more difficult to cope.…”

Self-Controlled Feedback and Learner Impulsivity in Sequential Motor Learning

“…The sample size was defined considering studies that used motor tasks similar to the one used in this study (Apolina´rio-Souza et al, 2016;Chiviacowsky & Wulf, 2002;Kaefer, Chiviacowsky, Meira, & Tani, 2014;Lage et al, 2007Lage et al, , 2017Meira, Fairbrother, & Perez, 2015). The mean sample size used in these studies was 12.5 participants.…”