Comparison of constant and variable practice conditions on free-throw shooting.
The proposition that variable practice may be superior to constant practice even for consistent transfer situations was tested on a prototypical consistently performed skill, the basketball free throw. 94 participants were matched on free-throw shooting, then randomly assigned to one of four practice conditions, a Constant condition, i.e., at the free-throw line, and three Variable conditions. Under supervision participants practiced shooting free throws four days a week for three weeks. Three substantially different variable practice conditions produced significant improvement similar to that of constant practice on tests during each week of practice and on a delayed retention test. Consistent with the proposition, the most variable practice group performed as well as the other groups on the retention test despite lower practice performance.
Department of Psychology, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green 42101, USA. betsy.shoenfelt@wku.edu
Elizabeth L
EL
Shoenfelt
Leslie A
LA
Snyder
Allison E
AE
Maue
C Patrick
CP
McDowell
Christopher D
CD
Woolard
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills; D011214:Practice, Psychological; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012153:Retention, Psychology; D014163:Transfer, Psychology