An effective model for observational learning to improve novel motor performance

[Purpose] To investigate whether for observational learning involving a ball rotation task, an unskilled model showing clumsy finger movements is more effective than a skilled model‏. [Subjects and Methods] Thirty-six young adults were randomly assigned to one of three groups. The unskilled model observation group observed a video of a ball rotation task practiced by a person for a short time. The skilled model observation group observed another video of the same task practiced by the person for a relatively long time. The non-observation group did not observe any video. Regarding rotation speed, the unskilled model was faster than the participants’ but slower than the skilled model. The unskilled model had the highest number of ball drops. [Results] After the observation, the unskilled model observation group showed significantly faster rotation speed than the other groups. There were no significant differences between the groups in the number of ball drops. [Conclusion] An unskilled model whose performance is better than the participants’ is beneficial for improving motor performance but a model showing less skill than the participants is not.