ENHANCING PERCEPTUAL-MOTOR ACCURACY THROUGH FLOTATION REST

Previous studies using flotation Restricted Environmental Stimulation Technique (REST) to enhance motor performance have focused on relative ly gross arm and leg movements and have combined the technique with a variety of imaginal practice and relaxation training procedures. This study independently varied REST and an imaginal training and relaxatio n script to improve accuracy among novice, intermediate, and expert da rts players. REST by itself and REST combined with the script were equ ally effective in enhancing performance (M change about +12%). The ima gery script alone and a no-treatment control condition resulted in no change on test-retest measures. The results indicate that in the area of perceptual-motor coordination, REST is not merely a potentiator of other techniques, but a useful and efficient unimodal intervention, wh ich takes a short time and does not require further rehearsal or repet ition.