Abstract:

This research addresses the question of how the input information affects the course of the first attempts when learning of an unknown locomotor task. The research sample (n = 60) was randomly divided into three groups, and each group received a different input information about the difficulty of the unknown sensomotor task.

The group first:
(1) did not receive any information about the difficulty of the upcoming task.

The second group was:
(2) informed that the task is very easy.

The third group:
(3) was informed that the upcoming task is very difficult.

The activation level of the probands was monitored at all times. After comparison of all results, we concluded that the input information about the difficulty of the task affects the performance and activation of the proband´s nervous system. On an average, the best test results were achieved by test group 3, which was informed about the high difficulty of the test, and, at the same time, we found the lowest level of activation of the nervous system in these probands. On the contrary, the worst performance and the highest level of activation in this test were showed in the probands of group 2, who were informed that the sensomotor task is easy. Very interesting results were also reported between women and men. The analysis of variance (ANOVA), t-test of independent files, and correlation analysis (Pearson´s correlation coefficient) were used for statistical processing of the gained data. These operations were done using the software called Statistica 8.0. With regard to the limited sample size, this research cannot be generalized, and its results are considered to be valid in a group of students of physical education and sports at the age of 20 to 25 years.

Keywords:

Mirror drawing, input information, electrodermal activity, learning process, locomotor task, sensomotoric performance.