Journal article
Understanding the role of cognitive effort within contextual interference paradigms: Theory, measurement, and tutorial
Brazilian journal of motor behavior, v 17(1), 59
10 Apr 2023
Abstract
BACKGROUND:“Contextual interference” (CI) describes a counterintuitive phenomenon related to practice organization when learning multiple tasks that are presented in a non-repetitive order. In CI, the lack of repetitiveness introduces a high level of interference within the learning context such that task performance during initial skill acquisition is frequently poorer than if tasks are practiced in a repetitive fashion. However, these learners often perform better on retention and transfer tasks than individuals who learn within a low CI environment. AIM:We provide a tutorial on several novel ways in which researchers can investigate brain activity in a CI paradigm using functional near-infrared spectroscopy: Relative neural efficiency (RNE), relative neural involvement (RNI), and laterality index (LI). METHOD:RNE integrates measures of cognitive effort and behavioral performance; in high CI learning environments, RNE should initially be poor (high cognitive effort, low behavioral performance), then improve during retention and transfer. RNI provides an index of the relationship among motivation, mental effort, and performance. Finally, LI allows for the exploration of lateralization between the two hemispheres of the cerebral cortex. RESULTS:Significant differences were found for total hemoglobin, RNE and LI for the right and left prefrontal cortex regions. The differences were accompanied by moderate-to-large effect size with random using less effort, better performance and was more oriented to goal orientation and learning processes than blocked who focused more on visuomotor attentional components and used more effort with lower behavioral performance scores. CONCLUSION:RNE, RNI, and LI provide innovative methods to better understand cognitive effort within CI paradigms.
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5 citations in Scopus
Details
- Title
- Understanding the role of cognitive effort within contextual interference paradigms: Theory, measurement, and tutorial
- Creators
- Nancy GetchellPatricia Shewokis - Drexel University
- Publication Details
- Brazilian journal of motor behavior, v 17(1), 59
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Nutrition Sciences
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-105010119356
- Other Identifier
- 991021867031204721