Extensive practice in motor learning: An overview and future directions

Abstract

Extensive practice is observed when performance reaches a plateau despite practice continuation. Although extensive practice promotes better results in retention tests, its status regarding transfer tests is not clear. The Adaptive Process Approach states that transfer will benefit from extensive practice. In turn, the Specificity of Practice Hypothesis states that transfer may be harmed after extensive practice. Each perspective has been around for 30 years, accumulating enough information to support its claims. However, they have not been directly contrasted, and each perspective has independently developed its methodological strategy to understand the role of extensive practice in motor learning. Therefore, it is possible that results supporting the perspectives are by-products of their methodological strategies, providing narrow validation limits to both perspectives. In order to better understand the effects of extensive practice on transfer, it is necessary to contrast the Adaptive Process Approach with the Specificity of Practice Hypothesis in a single and unifying methodological framework.