| In developing motor training techniques using haptic feedback, it has been observed in several studies that error-amplification, as opposed to haptic guidance, can be more beneficial for trainees when they have a relatively high initial level of skill at performing the motor task. The reasoning for this effect is that highly skilled subjects who have learned the feel of a task benefit from an exaggeration of their errors that provokes further learning, whereas less skilled subjects benefit from demonstrating the basic feel of the task. The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that error-augmentation haptic training, as opposed to haptic guidance, provides a greater degree of long term motor learning for trainees who are initially highly skilled. Putting accuracy for a virtual golf video game was compared for unimpaired subjects who trained with either haptic guidance, error-augmentation, or no haptic intervention amongst subjects who showed a relatively high proficiency at the game before training. While both training environments produced significant improvements in performance, there were no significant differences in learning between groups (ANOVA p-value = 0.821). Thus, the hypothesis was not proven to be true. This effect might be explained by considering that the subjects had effectively mastered the task, and thus there was a learning ceiling. |
