Evidence for an outflow theory of skill

Movement Cue Reproduction Under Preselection

A series of three experiments was undertaken to determine the role of prior knowledge of different movement cues in the preselection effect. Experiments 1 and 2 examined the singular and combinative role of location and extent cues under both preselected and constrained conditions. The third experiment provided a framework for evaluating the sources of informations which may contribute to the preselection phenomenon. In experiments 1 an 2, the results suggest the advantage of preseleted over constrained movement was constant across movement cues. The second experiment demonstrated that the dual cue condition was superior to location alone and extent alone in both accuracy and consistency. Finally, the third experiment indicated that prior knowledge (strategy) was the primary variable responsible for the preselection effect.

Retention Characteristics of Movement Rate Information

The retention characteristics of fast and slow movements were investigated in two experiments. Experiment 1 examined the reproduction of either fast or slow preselected movement rates after 0-sec rest, 15-sec rest or a 15-sec filled delay. Both fast and slow movement rates were rehearsable. Experiment 2 examined reproduction accuracy after subjects were required to perform a competing secondary task during the production of fast and slow movements. Although the secondary task degraded the reproduction of slow movements, it had no apparent effect upon the reproduction of fast movements. These results were interpreted as indicating partial support for Jones' (1974) notion of central monitoring of efference, and suggested that the contribution of proprioceptive feedback to movement control varies as a function of movement rate.