Intention in motor learning through observation

The purpose of this experiment was to assess whether learning an action through observation is enhanced by the intention to reproduce the observed behaviour. Two groups of participants observed a model practise a timing task and performed a 24-hour delayed retention test. Participants in the first g...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006) 2006-02, Vol.59 (2), p.377-386
Main Authors: Badets, Arnaud, Blandin, Yannick, Shea, Charles H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activity levels. Psychomotricity
Adolescent
Adult
Attention
Biological and medical sciences
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Imitative Behavior
Intention
Life Sciences
Male
Motivation
Neurons and Cognition
Practice (Psychology)
Psychology and behavior
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Psychomotor activities
Psychomotor Performance
Reaction Time
Retention (Psychology)
Serial Learning
Visual Perception
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Summary:The purpose of this experiment was to assess whether learning an action through observation is enhanced by the intention to reproduce the observed behaviour. Two groups of participants observed a model practise a timing task and performed a 24-hour delayed retention test. Participants in the first group of observers were explicitly instructed that they would be required to execute the timing task that they had observed as accurately as possible during the delayed retention test. Observers in the second group were instructed that they would be required to describe as accurately as possible the behaviour that they had observed. A control group of participants, who did not observe the model, was also administered the delayed retention test. The results of the retention test indicated that absolute timing (parameterization) was learned by the observers to the same extent with or without intention to reproduce the task. Indeed, on the retention test absolute timing for the two groups of observers was as effective as that for the models. However, observing with an intention to reproduce the task was beneficial for learning the movement's relative timing structure. Results are discussed with respect to a potential mechanism by which intention enhances observation.
ISSN:1747-0218
1747-0226
DOI:10.1080/02724980443000773