Analogy learning: A means to implicit motor learning

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to examine the hypothesis that learning by analogy will invoke characteristics of an implicit mode of motor learning. In the first experiment, table tennis novices learned to hit forehand topspin implicitly, explicitly or by analogy. The results showed that the analogy and implicit learning groups accumulated equivalently fewer explicit rules than the explicit learning group during the learning phase. When a concurrent secondary task was added, the explicit learning group suffered from a significantly more serious performance impairment than the analogy and implicit learning groups; no significant differences were seen between the latter two groups. Self-perceived performance was correlated to actual performance in the explicit learning group but not in the analogy or the implicit learning groups. In the second experiment, the performance of an explicit learning group was found to be impaired by both a stress intervention and a thought suppression intervention, whereas the performance of an analogy learning group was not. These characteristics of analogy learning parallel those reported in the implicit learning literature, suggesting that analogy learning may be an effective method for teaching skills implicitly in sport.

Exploring Personality Dimensions That Influence Practice and Performance of a Simulated Laparoscopic Task in the Objective Structured Clinical Examination

“…29,30 A cognitively efficient way in which to increase conscious control of movements without incurring adverse effects could be to use heuristics 31 or analogy learning paradigms. 32 An analogy is a 'biomechanical metaphor' that conveys knowledge about the movement in a condensed form (i.e., with minimal rules). For instance, surgical trainees taught to perform a blunt dissection of tissue might be instructed to 'split it like a two-layered business card': "start a split at one corner by bending it to and fro and then pull the layers apart".…”

Learning by Analogies: Implications for Performance and Attentional Processes Under Pressure

“…In the learning process some teachers draw analogies to give the learner a better understanding of how the skill works. According to Liao and Masters [23] "the function of the analogy is to integrate the complex rule structure of the to-be-learned skill in a simple biomechanical metaphor that can be reproduced by the learner" [p. 308]. Thus, in one single analogical rule many of the technical rules that are necessary for successful execution of the skill are encompassed [22].…”

“…In a second experiment they were furthermore able to demonstrate that the performance of an analogy learning group was not affected by stress, suggesting that this method may be a possible means to prevent choking under pressure. Using the same approach as Liao and Masters [23] (learning the table tennis forehand by analogy), Law et al [24] showed that supportive audiences induced performance decrements in the explicit learning group but not in the analogy learning group. It is assumed that the presence of supportive audiences leads to the same processes as stress, an inward shift of attention and in turn to a deterioration in performance.…”

“…Liao and Masters [23] examined the hypothesis that analogy learning is implicit in nature and will therefore show similar characteristics to implicit learning. They instructed table tennis novices to learn the topspin forehand either implicitly (no additional instructions but secondary task in the learning phase), explicitly (set of 12 basic techniques on how to hit topspin) or by analogy (instruction to pretend to draw a right-angled triangle with the bat).…”

Optimizing performance through intrinsic motivation and attention for learning: The OPTIMAL theory of motor learning

“…That is, instructions directing attention away from one's body parts or self and to the intended movement effect have consistently been found to have an enhancing effect on performance and learning-despite the similar information content. The use of analogies may serve the same purpose by directing attention to the production of a given image (i.e., external focus), rather than body movements (Liao & Masters, 2001;Wulf & Toole, 1999).…”