The main objective of this study was to influence implicit learning through two different classical manipulations and to inspect whether working memory capacity (WMC) and personality were related to the different measures of learning. With that purpose, in Experiment 1 we asked 172 undergraduate students of psychology to perform a serial reaction time (SRT) task under single- or dual-task conditions and to complete a WMC task and a personality test. In Experiment 2, 164 students performed the SRT task under incidental or intentional conditions and also filled a WMC task and a personality test. In both experiments, WMC influenced learning, but this relation was found only when attention was not loaded (Experiment 1) or when intentional instructions were given (Experiment 2). The pattern of relations with personality, although more varied, also showed a commonality between both experiments: learning under the most implicit conditions correlated positively with extraversion.
DOCUMENT
Objectives: To investigate immediate changes in walking performance associated with three implicit motor learning strategies and to explore patient experiences of each strategy. Design: Participants were randomly allocated to one of three implicit motor learning strategies. Within-group comparisons of spatiotemporal parameters at baseline and post strategy were performed. Setting: Laboratory setting. Subjects: A total of 56 community-dwelling post-stroke individuals. Interventions: Implicit learning strategies were analogy instructions, environmental constraints and action observation. Different analogy instructions and environmental constraints were used to facilitate specific gait parameters. Within action observation, only videotaped gait was shown. Main measures: Spatiotemporal measures (speed, step length, step width, step height) were recorded using Vicon 3D motion analysis. Patient experiences were assessed by questionnaire. Results: At a group level, three of the four analogy instructions (n=19) led to small but significant changes in speed (d=0.088m/s), step height (affected side d=0.006m) and step width (d=–0.019m), and one environmental constraint (n=17) led to significant changes in step width (d=–0.040m). At an individual level, results showed wide variation in the magnitude of changes. Within action observation (n=20), no significant changes were found. Overall, participants found it easy to use the different strategies and experienced some changes in their walking performance. Conclusion: Analogy instructions and environmental constraints can lead to specific, immediate changes in the walking performance and were in general experienced as feasible by the participants. However, the response of an individual patient may vary quite considerably.
DOCUMENT
There is a wide range of literature suggesting that implicit learning is more effective than explicit learning when acquiring motor skills. However, the acquisition of nursing skills in educational settings continues to rely heavily on detailed protocols and explicit instructions. This study aimed to examine the necessity for comprehensive protocols in the acquisition of nursing skills. In the context of bandaging techniques, three studies were conducted to investigate whether students who practiced with an instruction card containing minimal instructions (implicit group) performed comparably to the students who practiced with a protocol containing step-by-step instructions (explicit group). Study 1 was designed to determine whether both groups performed equally well in applying a bandage during training. Study 2 and 3 were designed to determine if both groups performed equally well during a retention and transfer (multitasking) test, administered after a series of three training sessions. In comparison with the explicit group, the implicit group demonstrated comparable performance with their practice attempts in Study 1 and performed equally well during the retention and transfer test in Study 2. Furthermore, several results from Study 3 indicated better performance of the implicit group. In conclusion, the use of protocols with explicit step-by-step instructions may not be essential for the acquisition of nursing skills. Instead, instructional methods that facilitate implicit learning may be preferable, as students in the implicit group demonstrated at least comparable performance in all studies and tended towards greater consistency when multitasking.
DOCUMENT
