This study was based on Battig's conceptualization that increased contextual interference during skill acquisition can lead to improved retention or transfer, especially under changed contextual conditions. Subjects learned three motor tasks under a blocked (low interference) or random (high interference) sequence of presentation. Retention was measured after a 10-min. or 10-day delay under blocked and random sequences of presentation. Subsequent transfer to a task of either the same complexity or greater complexity than the originally learned tasks was also investigated. Results showed that retention was greater following high interference (random) acquisition than after low interference (blocked) acquisition when retention was measured under changed contextual interference conditions. Likewise, transfer was greater for high interference (random) acquisition groups than for low interference (blocked) acquisition groups. This effect was most notable when transfer was measured for the transfer task of greatest complexity. These results are considered as support for Battig's conceptualization of contextual interference effects on retention and transfer. Implications for the teaching of motor skills are also discussed.Research concerned with verbal learning and rule learning has provided evidence that learning under conditions of high intratask interference results in improved retention and, to a lesser extent, facilitation of transfer (Battig, 1972;Hiew, 1977). Battig (1978) has recently incorporated these findings into a general conceptualization of memory that is in line with the levels of processing framework for memory research

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The effects of practice schedule and amount of practice on the development of the generalized motor program (GMP) and on parameter estimation were investigated. Participants (N = 108) practiced the same relative timing but different absolute durations of a multisegment timing task. Practice schedules (constant, blocked, or serial) were crossed with amounts of practice (low and high). Inclusion of a constant practice condition allowed the authors to investigate the variability of practice prediction. Participants practiced the same proportional durations in a serial or a blocked schedule, which enabled the authors to examine contextual interference. A constant practice schedule enhanced GMP performance when task parameters remained the same, but varied practice schedules were beneficial when task parameters changed. A serial as opposed to a blocked practice schedule was superior when the performance of a task governed by a different GMP was required. Increased practice led to a consolidated task representation that was unavailable for updating.

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Two experiments investigated the proposition of the elaboration explanation for contextual interference that more than one task is present in working memory when multiple tasks are practiced in a random schedule but that only one task is present in working memory when multiple tasks are practiced in a blocked schedule. Three motor tasks were performed as fast as possible in either a random or blocked practice schedule. At the end of practice, a reminder trial for each task was either given or not given. Acquisition performance was slower for the random practice conditions than for the blocked practice conditions. Retention performance was faster for the random practice conditions than for the blocked practice condition that did not receive a reminder trial for each task. Importantly, performance differences were not found between the random practice conditions and the blocked practice condition that did receive a reminder trial for each task. A blocked practice condition with a beneficial acquisition and reminder task order pairing performed faster during both acquisition and retention than a comparable random practice condition. Reminder trials can facilitate detailing of task characteristics, and their effectiveness is determined by the elapsed time and number of intervening tasks during acquisition and retention.

The effects of relative frequency of knowledge of results on the retention of a motor skill was studied. Adams' theory (1971) contends that the perceptual trace of a criterion position gains on increment of strenth each time the feedback stimuli associated with the criterion position are experienced and that it is the strength of the perceptual trace that determines retention. Schmidt's theory (1975), however, suggests that the recognition schema is updated only on trials on which the feedback stimuli associated with the criterion position are experienced in conjunction with knowledge of results and that it is the precision of the recognition schema that determines retention. Two experiments were conducted. The results provided evidence contrary to Adams' theory. Schmidt's theory, however, was only partially supported.

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The purpose of the present experiment was to investigate the role of auditory feedback and its impact on movement time in a standard Fitts task. Feedback was given at the moment of target acquisition. A 2-way analysis of variance found significant differences between feedback groups at all three indexes of difficulty (F(2, 40) = 156.02, p < .001). Results from a mixed-model multivariate analysis of variance for kinematic factors show significant differences in peak velocity and the location of peak velocity when comparing feedback groups. In general, the addition of auditory feedback decreased the task ID by .5.