The Value of Supplementary Visual Information during Practice on Dynamic Kinesthetic Learning

Ninety male subjects were each given ten 1-min. trials on an apparatus that generated a varying mechanical force against a pivoted lever and recorded the counter force exerted by the subject. The task was to respond to changes in such a fashion as to keep the subject vs. lever differential force at a constant value of zero. The results were scored in terms of the accuracy of immediate corrective response to the changing force. All subjects performed the initial trials (1 and 2) and the final trials (9 and 10) blindfolded. The six intermediate trials were practiced by one-third of the subjects under purely kinesthetic conditions, by another third under automatic visual supplementation conditions, and by the remaining third under conditions of lesser automatic visual supplementation of the error information. It was concluded that little or no improvement in the criterion condition can be expected when practice involves kinesthetic error information only. In contrast, provision of appropriate amounts of supplementary visual information during practice can produce learning of a purely kinesthetic criterion response.