Effects of Proactive Interference on Learning the Tennis Backhand Stroke

Abstract

Proactive interference in motor skill acquisition occurs when a desired response is adversely affected by a previously learned skill. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of learning a forehand tennis groundstroke on the subsequent learning of a backhand. 96 subjects equally representing seventh and eighth grade boys and girls who had never played tennis were randomly assigned to two methods of instruction. This resulted in four groups of 24. The experimental groups received instruction and practice in a forehand skill. The experimental and control groups received backhand instruction and practice and both groups were tested on backhand. Results of a 2 × 2 multivariate analysis of variance indicated significant between-subjects main effects for sex and groups. There were significant within-subjects effects for days and group × days. These results suggest that learning the forehand independent of the backhand may interfere with learning the backhand.