The Effects of Contextual Interference and Indexes Difficulty on Learning of Simple and Complex tasks

Background & Purpose: The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of contextual interference on learning simple and complex tasks with indexes difficulty. A number of 56 right handed Yazd university students with a mean age of 22 1.3years were selected through convenience sampling and were randomly assigned to four groups which differed in scheduled practice and type of task performed (simple and complex). Fitts’ task with different indexes difficulty were designed as software and appeared on a computer monitor.The aim of this task was maximum movement speed and accuracy. The subjects practiced 8 blocks of 8 trails in the acquisition phase and then practiced 1 blocks of 8 trails in the immediate retention phase. In transfer tests, they performed 1 blocks of 8 trails. The data were analyzed by mixed factor ANOVA, two way ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis test (P The results showed a significant difference between various scheduled practices and type of tasks in different phases of movement speed. Meanwhile there was no significant difference between various scheduled practices of movement accuracy. These findings suggest that contextual interference effect depend on trade of speed and accuracy. The results suggested usage from low contextual interference (blocked scheduled practice) is appropriate in tasks that benefit from the principal of speed and accuracy.