Motor Skill Acquisition: Contextual Interference and Specificity

The Contextual Interference Effect

Contextual Interference (CI) occurs when multiple skills are practiced concurrently, causing interference between the tasks. This increased difficulty results from introducing three or more distinct tasks within the same practice session.

• Low CI: Typically achieved through blocked practice (performing all repetitions of one task before moving to the next).
• High CI: Typically achieved through random practice (interleaving different tasks unpredictably).

Impact on Learning and Performance

The CI effect demonstrates that introducing greater levels of interference into the practice setting enhances a learner's ability to remember skill-related information long term, although it may negatively affect short-term performance (the acquisition phase).

In summary:

• High levels of CI produce inferior performance during practice but significantly enhance long-term learning and retention.
• Low CI produces good immediate performance but poor long-term learning.

The Shea and Morgan (1979) Study

Shea and Morgan established the CI effect using a barrier-knocking task. They recruited two groups for the acquisition phase:

1. Blocked Practice Group: Performed all repetitions of barrier sequence A, then all of B, then all of C. (Low CI)
2. Random Practice Group: Interleaved sequences A, B, and C randomly throughout the acquisition phase. (High CI)

The blocked group improved rapidly during acquisition. However, when tested after a retention interval, the random practice group demonstrated superior long-term learning. This study showed that practicing in a random situation makes the learning process more robust and transferable to real-life performance situations.

The Specificity Principle for Motor Skill Learning

The Specificity of Practice Principle asserts that practice conditions must closely match the real-world conditions under which the motor skill will ultimately be performed. This alignment prevents a detrimental shift in underlying abilities that could interfere with performance.

The principle encompasses three key areas of specificity:

1. Specificity of Sensory Feedback

Movement learning is highly specific to the sensory feedback available during acquisition. Increased practice can make learners dependent on this feedback, which is crucial for error correction and detection. Emotional arousal and the senses used in practice and performance must be similar.

2. Specificity of Context

Matching the environmental conditions in practice to those in the real world allows the same contextual information to operate and serve as cues for retrieval of the learned information. Examples include:

• Audience presence
• Weather conditions
• Terrain or playing surface

3. Specificity of Cognitive Processing

The cognitive demands and underlying processes learned in practice must be the same as those used to successfully perform the skill in the real-world setting. Cognitive demands must be similar to ensure effective transfer.