Self-Control of Task Difficulty During Training Enhances Motor Learning of a Complex Coincidence-Anticipation Task

Mathieu Andrieux (1) , Jérémy Danna (2) , Bernard Thon (3)

1 UT - Université de Toulouse
2 LNC - Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives [Marseille]
3 Acquisition et Transmission des Habiletés Motrices-EA 2044

The aim of the present work was to analyze the influence of self-controlled task difficulty on motor learning. Participants had to intercept three targets falling at different velocities by displacing a stylus above a digitizer. Task difficulty corresponded to racquet width. Half the participants (self-control condition) could choose the racquet width at the beginning of each trial. Each was paired with a participant from the yoked group. The self-control condition resulted in better performances and accuracy during immediate and delayed retention tests. These results confirm the advantage of a self-control condition on motor learning. They are discussed with reference to the challenge point hypothesis (Guadagnoli & Lee, 2004).

Mots clés: challenge point hypothesis; practice; information processing

Domaines: Psychologie

Mathieu Andrieux, Jérémy Danna, Bernard Thon. Self-Control of Task Difficulty During Training Enhances Motor Learning of a Complex Coincidence-Anticipation Task. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 2012, 83 (1), pp.27-35. ⟨10.1080/02701367.2012.10599822⟩. ⟨hal-01588106⟩