Thomas Heinen *, Alexandra Pizzera * and Jorge Cottyn **
(*) German Sport University Cologne, Germany
(**) Katholieke Hogenschool Zuid - West - Vlaanderen, Belgium
Citation
Heinen, T., Pizzera, A., Cottyn, J. (2010). When is manual guidance effective for the acquisition of complex skills in Gymnastics?. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 41(3), 255-276.
Abstract
Although use of manual guidance in gymnastics is widespread, little is known about when this technique is effective for acquisition of skills. The goal of two experiments was to evaluate effects of manual guidance on performance, fear of injury, and self-efficacy in the acquisition and transfer of a somersault and a cartwheel in gymnastics. Based on previous research, we predicted that guidance would have no effect on performance when learning a somersault or cartwheel on the balance beam. Further, we assumed that guidance would affect fear of injury and selfefficacy, with guided participants showing lower fear of injury and higher self-efficacy expectations. We analyzed performance, fear of injury, and self-efficacy of 26 gymnasts in the acquisition and transfer of the two skills. Manual guidance had a significant effect on performance in the somersault but not the cartwheel. Fear of injury increased slightly when learning the somersault and cartwheel with manual guidance and differed between groups in the transfer test when learning the cartwheel. Self-efficacy decreased slightly when learning the somersault, but did not differ between groups. When learning the cartwheel, self-efficacy scores decreased in the control group and differed between groups in the second and third step of the methodical progression as well as in transfer. Findings suggest that manual guidance in complex movements should be differentially used depending on the biomechanical demands of the task to be learned.
Keywords: Cartwheel, Fear of injury, Self-efficacy, Somersault