EFFECT OF DIFFERENT QUANTITIES OF VARIABLE PRACTICE ON ACQUISITION, RETENTION, AND TRANSFER OF AN APPLIED MOTOR SKILL

This investigation examined the effect of manipulating different quant ities of variable practice in the acquisition phase on the retention a nd transfer performance of a dart throw. Participants in the Specific condition practiced a total of 75 acquisition trials from a distance o f 2.39 m. Participants in the Specific+Variable condition practiced a total of 75 acquisition trials with 25 trials from distances of 1.47 m , 2.39 m, and 3.30 m. Participants in the Specific+Varplus condition p racticed a total of 75 acquisition trials with 15 trials from distance s of 1.47 m, 1.93 m, 2.39 m, 2.84 m, and 3.30 m. Results of the one-wa y analysis of variance on the 24-hr, retention test from 2.39 m yielde d no significant differences among practice conditions for mean radial error. A one-way analysis of variance on the 24-hr. transfer test fro m 3.76 m indicated that the Specific+Variable and Specific+Varplus con ditions performed with significantly smaller mean radial error than th e Specific condition. The results are discussed in regard to recent re search and applicability to instructional settings.