Abstract
Two experiments were performed to test the hypothesis that mental rehearsal facilitates learning of rotary pursuit tracking. In Experiment 1, improvement in rotary pursuit tracking was compared for a physical practice group, a mental rehearsal group, and a no-practice control group. After 10 days of practice, the physical practice and mental rehearsal groups were equally proficient and both groups were superior to the no-practice control group. In Experiment 2, the rate of learning was faster for a group which mentally rehearsed during rest periods following physical practice than a group which performed a controlled task during the rest periods. The group engaging in combined mental and physical practice reached asymptote 2 days earlier than did the physical-practice-only group.
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Rawlings, E.I., Rawlings, I.L., Chen, S.S. et al. The facilitating effects of mental rehearsal in the acquisition of rotary pursuit tracking. Psychon Sci 26, 71–73 (1972). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03335435
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03335435