The influence of reminder trials on contextual interference effects.

Two experiments investigated the proposition of the elaboration explanation for contextual interference that more than one task is present in working memory when multiple tasks are practiced in a random schedule but that only one task is present in working memory when multiple tasks are practiced in a blocked schedule. Three motor tasks were performed as fast as possible in either a random or blocked practice schedule. At the end of practice, a reminder trial for each task was either given or not given. Acquisition performance was slower for the random practice conditions than for the blocked practice conditions. Retention performance was faster for the random practice conditions than for the blocked practice condition that did not receive a reminder trial for each task. Importantly, performance differences were not found between the random practice conditions and the blocked practice condition that did receive a reminder trial for each task. A blocked practice condition with a beneficial acquisition and reminder task order pairing performed faster during both acquisition and retention than a comparable random practice condition. Reminder trials can facilitate detailing of task characteristics, and their effectiveness is determined by the elapsed time and number of intervening tasks during acquisition and retention.