When Random Practice Makes you More Skilled: Applying the Contextual Interference Principle to a Simple Aiming Task Learning

Cretton, Alexandre; Ruggeri, Paolo; Brandner, Catherine; Barral, Jérôme · 2025 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1007/s41465-025-00317-5

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Summary

This study investigates the effects of contextual interference (CI) on motor learning in simple aiming tasks, specifically examining whether random practice enhances transfer to untrained parameters and influences pre-movement planning processes. Grounded in Schmidt’s Schema Theory, the research addresses gaps in existing literature regarding whether CI benefits extend to novel distances and contralateral hand use, and whether it affects reaction time in non-sequential tasks where movement planning can be preprogrammed. Thirty-six right-handed participants were assigned to either a High Contextual Interference (HCI) group, which practiced three target distances in a random order, or a Low Contextual Interference (LCI) group, which practiced in a blocked order. Over nine training sessions, participants performed a computer-based aiming task using an ambidextrous mouse, with visual feedback obscured during movement to prevent online control. Performance was assessed via pretest, posttest, and retention sessions one week later. Evaluations included trained parameters (original distances with the trained hand), untrained parameters (new distances and the untrained hand), and metrics for accuracy (absolute and variable error), speed, and reaction time. Results indicated that while the HCI group exhibited reduced accuracy during the training phase compared to the LCI group, this pattern reversed in retention and transfer tests. The HCI group demonstrated significantly higher accuracy across both trained and untrained parameters, including novel distances and the contralateral hand. These findings confirm that random practice facilitates robust parameterization learning and enhances the flexibility of motor schemas. Consistent with the hypothesis that simple aiming tasks primarily engage preprogrammed internalization processes rather than sequential planning, no significant differences were observed between groups in reaction time or movement speed. This supports the view that CI effects in such tasks are driven by improvements in parameter adjustment rather than changes in movement initiation speed. The significance of these findings lies in confirming the robustness of contextual interference effects in parameterization learning and extending its benefits to unpracticed motor parameters. The study provides empirical evidence that random practice strengthens motor schemas, allowing learners to adapt to novel situations more effectively than those using blocked practice. Furthermore, the lack of effect on reaction time clarifies the specific cognitive processes influenced by CI in non-sequential tasks, distinguishing them from sequential tasks where planning demands are higher. These results have implications for designing efficient motor training protocols that prioritize long-term retention and transfer over immediate performance.

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• automaticity skill acquisition