Knowledge of results in the learning of motor tasks: effects of frequency versus task complexity

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to verify the existence of interaction between the effects of different frequencies of knowledge of results (KR) and the complexity of the task, in the learning of three variations (simple, intermediate and complex) of a sequential motor task, with spatial and temporal objectives. One hundred and twenty students, 60 of each gender, were used as subjects, distributed in 12 groups of 10 subjects each, with an equal number of subjects of each gender by group, regarding the different tasks, and the different KR frequencies (100, 66, 50 and 33%). The tasks required participants to press keys on the computer numeric keyboard, with different spatial and temporal requirements, manipulated in order to modify their complexity. The simple task was constituted of four keys with no changes in direction and partial times. The intermediate task was constituted of five keys, with different partial times and one change in direction. The complex task was constituted of six keys, with different partial times and random changes in direction. The study was composed of three phases: acquisition delayed retention and transfer phases (24 hours). The ANOVA was used to verify eventual differences and the Tukey test to determine specific differences. The results did not show the existence of interaction between the frequency of KR and the complexity of the task. Such result disagrees with some others found in the literature, showing that more studies are still necessary to clarify the issue.