Self-controlled knowledge of results: Age-related differences in motor learning, strategies, and error detection
Highlights
► Unlike younger adults, older adults did not show learning benefits from self-control. ► Younger adults self-reported a switch in KR strategy as a function of practice trials completed. ► A self-controlled KR schedule enhanced error detection abilities in younger adults.
Introduction
Research has unequivocally revealed self-controlled practice to be a learning variable when performers controlled the frequency of observing a modeled demonstration, the use of physical assistive devices, and the organization of practice repetitions (see Wulf, 2007 for a review). Similarly, a self-controlled knowledge of results (KR) schedule has proven more effective for motor learning compared to those not provided control (i.e., yoked group) for single task (Chen et al., 2002, Chiviacowsky and Wulf, 2002, Chiviacowsky and Wulf, 2005, Patterson et al., 2011) and multiple task learning (Patterson & Carter, 2010).
The learning advantages of self-controlled practice are speculated to be the result of an increased motivation to learn (Boekaerts, 1996, Chiviacowsky and Wulf, 2002, Chiviacowsky and Wulf, 2005, Winne, 1995, Wulf, 2007), that practice conditions are individualized to the performers information processing capabilities (Chen et al., 2002, Chiviacowsky and Wulf, 2002, Keetch and Lee, 2007), and task information is requested only when necessary (Boekaerts and Corno, 2005, Chiviacowsky and Wulf, 2002, Winne, 2005, Wulf, 2007, Zimmerman, 1989). Learners also utilize deliberate strategies when provided the opportunity to control task-related information (e.g., KR after good trials: Chiviacowsky and Wulf, 2002, Patterson and Carter, 2010).
The preference for KR after perceived good trials challenges theoretical accounts regarding the role of KR in resolving error; that is, minimizing the differences between the actual and the desired performance (Adams, 1971, Schmidt, 1975). The preference for feedback after good trials has been interpreted as a motivational factor during skill acquisition (Chiviacowsky & Wulf, 2002) and the perception that less cognitive effort is required to reproduce a successful response compared to the cognitive effort required to update a motor plan for an unsuccessful response (Chiviacowsky and Wulf, 2002, Chiviacowsky and Wulf, 2005, Koehen et al., 2008). The benefits of self-control have been primarily demonstrated in younger adults (see Wulf, 2007 for a review) and more recently in 10 year old children (Chiviacowsky, Wulf, Laroque de Medeiros, Kaefer, & Tani, 2008). In contrast, the usefulness of self-controlled practice in older adults has received minimal attention in the motor learning literature and consequently remains inconclusive (Patterson, Sanli, & Adkin, 2008).
Findings from the cognitive learning literature offer insight into the relationship between self-controlled practice and older adults. Compared to younger adults, older adults self-select practice strategies requiring minimal cognitive effort (e.g., recognition) for word association tasks and novel arithmetic problems compared to the cognitively effortful strategies (e.g., retrieval) considered advantageous for learning (D’Eredita and Hoyer, 2010, Hertzog et al., 2007, Rogers and Gilbert, 1997, Rogers et al., 2000, Touron and Hertzog, 2004a, Touron and Hertzog, 2004b, Touron et al., 2004). Older adults’ propensity to individualize a learning context that places low demands on their cognitive processes not only results in a less than favorable learning context but also suggests an explicit awareness of their age-related changes to information processing abilities and working memory capacity (Bäckman et al., 2010, Bäckman et al., 2000, Fjell and Walhovd, 2010, Luo and Craik, 2008, Salthouse, 1996). In the motor skill learning literature, older adults have demonstrated similar learning advantages to their younger adult counterparts in learning contexts believed to place heightened demands on their information processing (i.e., cognitively effortful) (e.g., random practice: Jamieson and Rogers, 2000, Lin et al., 2010; reduced relative frequency of KR: Carnahan et al., 1996, Guadagnoli et al., 2002). However, these practice contexts were externally determined by the researcher. For younger adults, a learner-controlled practice context has proven to positively impact motor skill acquisition. Yet for older adults, it currently remains unknown. The opportunity for the older adult to individualize their learning to match their changing information processing could in fact prove favorable for motor learning. However, based on the cognitive learning literature, the effort required by the older adult learner to individualize their learning context is perhaps a less than desirable method of facilitating their skill learning. For the present experiment, we were interested in determining if older adults would individualize a practice context that would place low demands on their information processing (i.e., frequent KR request) to the detriment of learning, or, individualize a learning context that optimally challenged their information processing abilities to the advantage of learning.
To address this gap in knowledge, the primary purpose of this experiment was to examine whether the learning advantages of a self-controlled KR schedule are modulated by the age of the learner. Based on the cognitive learning literature and age-related changes to information processing and working memory, we expected frequent KR requests during practice for older adults, at the expense of learning. We were also interested in examining the strategies for requesting KR as a function of age and number of practice trials completed. Previous research asked participants to self-report a singular response regarding their KR strategy at the end of the acquisition phase (Chiviacowsky and Wulf, 2002, Patterson and Carter, 2010, Patterson et al., 2011); however, a limitation of this methodology is that learning is a dynamic process and participants may adjust their KR strategy as a function of practice trials completed. To address this limitation, participants were asked to self-report their KR strategy for trials 1–30 (hereafter termed 1st half) separate from trials 31–60 (hereafter termed 2nd half). Lastly, we were interested in determining if engaging in a deliberate KR strategy also developed the error detection and correction mechanism. According to the guidance hypothesis (Salmoni, Schmidt, & Walter, 1984), an effective KR schedule prevents a dependence on KR by facilitating the ability to interpret and utilize intrinsic feedback sources. However, determining if a self-controlled KR schedule concurrently strengthens error detection abilities is unknown. Previous research has revealed that as practice progresses, participants typically decrease their number of KR requests (Chiviacowsky and Wulf, 2002, Patterson and Carter, 2010). As a result, we predicted an initial increased reliance on KR early in practice to be replaced by a greater reliance on task-related intrinsic feedback later in practice, consequently developing the error detection and correction mechanism of the self-control groups.
Section snippets
Participants
Twenty younger adults (Self-Young, n = 10, M age = 22, SD = 1.15; Yoked-Young, n = 10, M age = 22.7, SD = 0.95) and 20 older adults (Self-Old, n = 10, M age = 69.9, SD = 6.05; Yoked-Old, n = 10, M age = 69.2, SD = 6.11) participated in the experiment. There were an equal number of males (n = 5) and females (n = 5) in each experimental group. All participants scoring ⩾25 on the Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE) (Folstein, Folstein, & McHugh, 1975) and 100 on the Modified Barthel Index (BI) (Shah, Vanclay, & Cooper, 1989) were
KR requests during acquisition
The proportion of KR requests for blocks 1-10 of acquisition for the Self-Young and Self-Old groups were 70%, 73%, 55%, 68%, 60%, 61%, 60%, 68%, 73%, & 58% and 77%, 80%, 70%, 68%, 72%, 68%, 72%, 68%, 83%, & 78%, respectively. The relative frequency that KR was requested throughout acquisition by the Self-Young and the Self-Old groups were 65% (SD = 32 %) and 74% (SD = 39 %), respectively. The differences between groups over the course of the acquisition period for proportion of KR trials did not
Discussion
The purpose of this experiment was three-fold. First, we were interested in determining whether the learning advantages of a self-controlled KR context would be modulated by the age of the learner with the expectation that in an attempt to alleviate the cognitive demands associated with no-KR trials (see Wulf & Shea, 2004 for review), older adults would request KR more frequently than younger adults at the expense of learning. Second, we were interested in determining if participants would
Conclusion
In summary, the results of the present experiment suggest the learning benefits of a self-controlled KR schedule are modulated by the age of the learner. Although recent research found a self-controlled KR schedule enhanced motor learning in children (Chiviacowsky et al., 2008), our results suggest these advantages do not extend to older adults. Data from the Self-Young group not only provides further support to the utility of self-controlled practice in younger adults but also adds to our
Acknowledgments
This experiment was supported by a Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research awarded to the first author. The authors thank Alex Kartalianakis for her help in participant recruitment and testing, and Dr. Diane Ste-Marie and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on an earlier version of this manuscript.
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