Addressing Mental Representation Changes According to Random and Blocked Practice

The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in mental representation in golf putting task due to random and blocked practice. Thirty participants were divided into random, blocked and control groups. First, the initial mental representation level of participants was measured and they performed 18 trials as retention. Then, they practiced the intended task for six consecutive days. A week after the last practice session their final mental representation level was measured and performed 18 trials as retention test. Results showed that random group had more errors than blocked group during acquisition, but performed more accurate than this group during retention. In addition, it was showed that random group has a more structured mental representation than the blocked group and this representation is more like the skilled participants.