Adaptation to effects of an audience during acquisition of rotary pursuit skill.

This study investigated the anxiety effects of an evaluative audience on the acquisition of a simple motor skill. These effects, also known as "stage fright," can be a major moderator of performance, so a better understanding of these variables can lead to improvements in motor skill development. 60 students completed 15 trials on a pursuit rotor. Participants completed the trials either alone (control) or in front of an audience (treatment). To test for differences in acquisition due to the timing of the introduction of the audience, some subjects completed all trials with an audience present, while others were allowed to practice 4 or 9 trials before the introduction of the audience. The performance curves exhibited by each group reached asymptote at approximately the same time but at different performance levels. Analyses of covariance indicated that, while the final performance of the treatment groups was not different, each treatment group performed significantly more poorly than the control group. Participants attempting to acquire a skill before an audience might not be able to adapt to the effects of the audience regardless of the timing of the introduction of the audience.