The effect of explicit, implicit and analogy instruction on decision-making skill for novices under stress

Abstract

ABSTRACT The present study is an attempt to evaluate directly the effect of explicit, implicit and analogy instruction on decision-making skills among novices under stress conditions. 60 young novices, aged 10–11, were randomly selected and assigned to three experimental groups and a control group. A field and a laboratory test were conducted to evaluate decision-making on the volleyball serve skill (decide and move). Once the four groups completed the pre-test, the three experimental groups participated in the intervention programme consisting of 12 training units (4 weeks × 3 times per week). A post-test, a retention test, and a stress test were also applied to all groups. All experimental groups improved and retained decision-making scores in both the laboratory and the field tests. Comparing the groups showed that the analogy learning group achieved a higher score than the implicit, explicit, and control groups in the post-test and retention test. Analogy and implicit learners appear to be unaffected by stress conditions, while the opposite is true of the explicit learners’ performance, which decreased in both the laboratory and the field tests. Ιt seems that if taught by analogy-based instructions, novices may perform better at both decision-making and motor skills, which indicates that they are under less cognitive demand, even under stress conditions.