No Improvement on the Learning of Golf Putting By Older Persons With Self-Controlled Knowledge of Performance

The aim of this study was to verify if older adults would benefit from a self-controlled schedule of knowledge of performance (KP) in the motor skill learning. The study’s participants included 22 women and 18 men, with an average age of 68 years (SD = 2.95 years). These were divided into two groups: “Self,” in which participants had control over when they received KP and “Yoked,” in which participants received KP in a paired manner with the Self group. The learning task was golf putting. Results showed that the groups had similar scores for accuracy and consistency of performance. Results also showed that KP requests were more based on bad trials than good trials. It appears that the important variable for motor learning is not who controls the provision of feedback, but also the older adults’ ability to use the information.