The purpose of the study is to investigate the learning effects of knowledge of performance (KP) on the performance of an open motor skill.
Method
Apparatus
The testing instruments included a standard table tennis table(2.74 m long, 1.525 m wide, and 76 cm high with a Masonite, layered with a smooth, low-friction coating) with a net (15.25 cm high), 80 standard table tennis balls (2.7 gram, 40 mm diameter), and racquets.
Procedures
Participants included 68 undergraduate students enrolled in a private college in the northeast of the United States. The main task was to return serves toward a designated target located on the other side of the table. Participants were randomly assigned into one of three treatment conditions: assigned KP (receive KP from the experimenter every 5 trials), self-controlled KP (participants were encouraged to ask for KP anytime they like), and no-KP (no KP was provided). The experiment is consisted of three phases: pretest, acquisition, and transfer test. In the pretest, each participant was asked to perform the task for 1 block of 5 trials without KP. During the acquisition trials, all participants were required to perform the task for a total of 25 trials.
The task for the transfer test is to return 10 serves without KP toward a different target location (from both pre-test and acquisition phrase). It was administered to all participants 5 minutes after the completion of the acquisition phase.
Analysis/Results
A 2 X 3 (Gender x Group) factorial ANOVA was used to examine mean differences in performing the task between gender and groups on pretest. No significant interaction and main effects were found (P > .05). In addition, a 2 x 3 x 5 (Gender x Condition x Trail Block) mixed factorial ANOVA was employed to examine mean differences in performance of the task during the acquisition phases. A significant mean difference was found in Trial Block 5 (P < .05). A separate 2 x 3 (Gender x Group) factorial ANOVA revealed no significant (p>.05) difference in performance of the task between gender and groups on the transfer test.
Conclusions
The test results suggest that KP does not have enhancing effect on the acquisition and transfer of the open motor skill. Male and female participants appeared to demonstrate the similar level of performance, regardless of the format of KP provision when performing and learning the motor task.
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