Response feedback and short-term motor retention

Tested the hypothesis that forgetting could be found on 1 trial in the absence of interference if the conditions or response-produced feedback were sufficiently reduced. The task was the learning and recall of a linear movement. 5 conditions of feedback and 2 retention intervals (5 and 90 sec.) gave 10 conditions, each with 20 male undergraduates. Auditory, proprioceptive, and visual feedback were used either singly, altogether, or not at all. Retention loss was found over 90 sec., with the most loss occurring for the condition with the least feedback. Results are interpreted in terms of the trace decay theory of forgetting and J. Adams' closed-loop theory which emphasizes the role of feedback in learning and retention. (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).