Instruction in Learning a Temporal Pattern on an Anticipation-Coincidence Task

Using a computer-simulated anticipation-coincidence task, the main aim of the study was to examine the effect of the type of instruction on learning a temporal pattern. For this task, participants must learn to anticipate the appropriate time to launch a projectile to hit a moving target. The experiment involved three instructional conditions. In the Explicit-rule Discover Instruction Condition participants were informed that target speed could change from trial to trial and that change is controlled by a regular pattern. Their task was then to search, to identify, and to use such pattern to enhance their anticipation. In the Explicit-Informative Instruction Condition, participants were, however, allowed before practice to examine attentively the regular pattern. Participants were also explicitly urged to use the pattern they observed to ensure a better interception of the target. Finally, in the Implicit Instruction Condition, participants were only informed that their task was to hit, or at least, to place the projectile as near as possible to the target. No additional information was provided about the target's behaviour. Analysis indicated that learning the temporal pattern was more important in Implicit than in Explicit-rule Discover Instruction Condition. However, the Explicit-Informative Instruction Condition produced unambiguously the highest learning. Overall, the study highlights the role of information over guidance in the understanding of the effect of the instructions on learning. Finally, we discussed the implications of these results on the comprehension of the variability of the effects of the instruction on learning.