The Influence of the Differences in Intentional Learning and Incidental Learning Conditions on Retention and Transfer in Motor Learning

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to clarify the effect of differences in teaching method before the tasks. [Subjects] Subjects were 29 healthy adults. [Methods] The subjects practiced series reaction time tasks before performing the tasks. We divided the subjects into 4 groups: the intentional answer group was taught all of the rules before the tasks, the intentional hint group was taught parts of the rules, the incidental awareness group which recognize the rules by themselves, and the group which was not taught and did not recognize the rules. Fourteen blocks were performed on the first day, and 3 blocks of retention tasks and transfer tasks were performed on the second day. [Results] In the transfer tasks, there were no decreases in reaction times in both the incidental awareness and intentional hint groups. [Conclusion] We found that the most effective learning condition for development of motor learning is to teach the subjects parts of the rules and have them recognize the other rules by themselves.