Self-Controlled Knowledge of Results Across Childhood and Adolescence: Age-Related Differences in Learning Benefits and Feedback Request Strategies

The effectiveness of self-controlled feedback in children and adolescents is thought to depend on the interplay between the cognitive demands of self-control and the cognitive resources available during motor learning. This study tested self-controlled knowledge of results (KR) across developmental stages. Three experiments included children and adolescents aged 8, 11, and 14 years. Participants performed 60 underhand beanbag throws with the non-dominant arm toward a floor target with vision occluded, and accuracy was scored by the concentric circle first contacted. Each practiced under one of three conditions. Self-controlled (SC) participants requested KR freely. Yoked (YK) participants received KR on a schedule matched to an SC counterpart. Yoked self-controlled (YSC) participants requested KR freely but were limited to an SC counterpart’s number of requests. Performance accuracy, intrinsic motivation, and KR request strategies were compared across acquisition, retention, and transfer tests. In the 3 (age) × 3 (condition) analysis, both self-controlled conditions outperformed YK on retention (p = .001, ηp2 = .13), with no detectable moderation by age (p = .062). On transfer, the effect of condition depended on age (p = .022, ηp2 = .11). SC outperformed YSC among 8-year-olds (p = .030), whereas YSC outperformed YK among 14-year-olds (p = .012), with no differences at 11 years. Interest/enjoyment showed the same age dependence (p = .013, ηp2 = .12), with both self-controlled conditions surpassing YK only among 14-year-olds. The effectiveness of self-controlled feedback schedules appears to depend on the learner’s developmental stage.