TY - JOUR
T1 - Specificity of learning and dynamic balance
AU - Robertson, Shannon
AU - Elliott, Digby
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada. We thank Luc Proteau and an anonymous reviewer for their helpful comments on an earlier version of this paper. Correspondence concerning this article should be sent to Shannon Robertson, MSc, Department of Kinesiology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907.
PY - 1996/3
Y1 - 1996/3
N2 - Contrary to a strict specificity of learning position, Robertson, Collins, Elliott, and Starkes (1994) have reported that the balance beam performance of expert gymnasts is less affected by the withdrawal of vision than is the performance of novice gymnasts. In this study, we employed, a training paradigm in order to exercise complete control over the sensory conditions under which a dynamic balance beam task was acquired. Novice participants were trained either with or without vision to walk across a balance beam as quickly as possible and later tested in the other vision condition. Although participants improved more in the condition in which they trained, practice in one sensory condition did not negatively affect performance in a different sensory circumstance. The finding that vision was still extremely important after 5 days of practice is problematic for models of motor learning that propose a progression with learning from closed-loop to open-loop control.
AB - Contrary to a strict specificity of learning position, Robertson, Collins, Elliott, and Starkes (1994) have reported that the balance beam performance of expert gymnasts is less affected by the withdrawal of vision than is the performance of novice gymnasts. In this study, we employed, a training paradigm in order to exercise complete control over the sensory conditions under which a dynamic balance beam task was acquired. Novice participants were trained either with or without vision to walk across a balance beam as quickly as possible and later tested in the other vision condition. Although participants improved more in the condition in which they trained, practice in one sensory condition did not negatively affect performance in a different sensory circumstance. The finding that vision was still extremely important after 5 days of practice is problematic for models of motor learning that propose a progression with learning from closed-loop to open-loop control.
KW - Balance
KW - Learning
KW - Specificity
KW - Vision
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U2 - 10.1080/02701367.1996.10607927
DO - 10.1080/02701367.1996.10607927
M3 - Article
C2 - 8735996
AN - SCOPUS:0030099484
SN - 0270-1367
VL - 67
SP - 69
EP - 75
JO - Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport
JF - Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport
IS - 1
ER -