Specificity of task constraints and effects of visual demonstrations and verbal instructions in directing learners' search during skill acquisition

In the present study, the efficacy of visual demonstrations and verbal inst ructions as instructional constraints on the acquisition of movement coordi nation was investigated. Fifteen participants performed an aiming task on 1 00 acquisition and 20 retention trials, under 1 of 3 conditions: a modeling group (MG), a verbally directed group (VDG), and a control group (CG). The MG observed a model intermittently throughout acquisition, whereas the VDG was verbally instructed to use the model's movement pattern. Participants in the CG received neither form of instruction. Kinematic analysis revealed that compared with verbal instructions or no instructions, visual demonstr ations significantly improved participants' approximation of the model's co ordination pattern. No differences were found in movement outcomes. Coordin ation data supported the visual perception perspective on observational lea rning, whereas outcome data suggested that the modeling effect is mainly a function of task constraints, that is, the novelty of a movement pattern.