Elsevier

Acta Psychologica

Volume 127, Issue 2, February 2008, Pages 407-415
Acta Psychologica

Goal-directed imitation: The means to an end

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2007.07.009Get rights and content

Abstract

The effects of goal-directed imitation and observational learning were examined whilst learning a goal-directed motor skill (three-ball cascade juggling). An observational learning (OL) group observed a model and a control (CON) group received minimal verbal instructions regarding how to hold and release the juggling balls. The OL group performed more juggling cycles across practice and retention than the CON group. In addition, the OL group’s upper limb coordination and ball flight trajectory pattern were more similar to the model’s movements than the CON group. These data show that when the to-be-learnt movement pattern and end-goal are not specified by the task’s mechanical constraints, or can be achieved by modifying a pre-existing motor skill, individuals have difficulty learning on the basis of discovery processes alone. Under these circumstances, observational learning is effective because it conveys to the individual the specific means by which the end-goal can be achieved. These findings lead us to suggest that when the end-goal and the means to achieve the end-goal are directly linked, the means are given sufficient weight in the goal hierarchy such that the model’s movement is imitated.

Section snippets

Participants

Sixteen mixed gender primary school children aged between 10 and 11 years old (mean age 10 years 10 months) were randomly assigned to two groups (n = 8). Prior to group allocation, all participants completed a pre-acquisition questionnaire. Data from these questionnaires indicated that none of the participants had learned to juggle either in school or at home, and hence all were categorised as novice jugglers. The two groups were defined as: observational learning group (OL) and control group

Juggling cycle scores

The OL and CON group’s juggling cycle scores are displayed in Table 1. Significant main effects were observed for group L(2) = 21.5, p < 0.05 and practice, L(2) = 8.89, p < 0.05. There was also a significant Group × PRAC interaction, L(2) = 8.85, p < 0.05. The OL group executed more juggling cycles in PRAC 2 and PRAC 3 than the CON group, who were unable to execute a single juggling cycle. Further, the OL group performed more juggling cycles at PRAC 2 than PRAC 1 (p < 0.025), and then continued to improve from

Discussion

The present experiment was designed to examine the influence of observation on the learning of a three-ball cascade juggling task, which is optimally performed by adopting a highly specific spatio-temporal movement pattern (Beek and van Santvoord, 1992, Huys and Beek, 2002). It was predicted that participants who observed a model would learn to execute a movement pattern (means) and ball trajectory pattern (ends) similar to the model. Moreover, this should also lead to concomitant improvements

Acknowledgement

The authors extend their gratitude to the staff and children of Cranberry Lane Infant School, Alsager, UK.

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