Do We Know What We Need? Preference for Feedback About Accurate Performances Does Not Benefit Sensorimotor Learning

• Published in: Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance 2018-08, Vol.44 (8), p.1294-1302
• Main Authors: Bastos, Flavio Henrique, Tani, Go, Drews, Ricardo, Riek, Stephan, Marinovic, Welber
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ability; Acquisition; Active learning; Adolescent; Adult; Choice Behavior - physiology; Experimental psychology; Extrapolation; Feedback; Feedback, Psychological - physiology; Female; Human; Humans; Knowledge of Results; Knowledge of Results (Psychology); Learning; Learning - physiology; Male; Motion Perception - physiology; Motor skill learning; Occlusion; Perceptual Motor Processes; Practice; Preferences; Psychomotor Performance - physiology; Questionnaires; Retention; Sensorimotor system; Transfer (Learning); Young Adult
• ISSN: 0096-1523; 1939-1277
• DOI: 10.1037/xhp0000529

Previous research on skill acquisition has shown that learners seem to prefer receiving knowledge of results (KR) about those trials in which they have performed more accurately. In the present study, we assessed whether this preference leads to an advantage in terms of skill acquisition, transfer, and retention of their capacity to extrapolate the motion of decelerating objects during periods of visual occlusion. Instead of questionnaires, we adopted a more direct approach to investigate learners' preferences for KR. Participants performed 90 trials of a motion extrapolation task (acquisition phase) in which, every three trials, they could decide between receiving KR about their best or worst performance. Retention and transfer tests were carried out 24 hr after the acquisition phase, without KR, to examine the effects of the self-selected KR on sensorimotor learning. Consistent with the current literature, a preference for receiving KR about the most accurate performance was observed. However, participants' preferences were not consistent throughout the experiment as less than 10% (N = 40) selected the same type of KR in all their choices. Importantly, although preferred by most participants, KR about accurate performances had detrimental effects on skill acquisition, suggesting that learners may not always choose the KR that will maximize their learning experiences and skill retention. Public Significance Statement This study presents a new approach to understand the preference for feedback about successes, rather than about failures, when learning sensorimotor skills. Our approach revealed that, although participants prefer receiving feedback about successes, this preference is not consistent over time, with learners deliberately requesting feedback about their worst trials during the learning process. More importantly, the results clearly demonstrate that a preference for receiving feedback about successful trials can be detrimental to performance during skill acquisition and that a learning benefit associated with this preference is unlikely, which contradicts recent studies. Although learners' engagement can sometimes be beneficial (e.g., increasing motivation), additional knowledge about the skill acquisition process itself may be necessary to induce optimal choices about feedback during learning.