Engaging environments enhance motor learning in a computer gaming task

Engagement during practice can motivate a learner to practice more, hence having indirect effects on learning through increased practice. However, it is not known whether engagement can also have a direct effect on learning when the amount of practice is held constant. To address this question, 40 participants played a video-game that contained an embedded repeated sequence component, under either highly engaging conditions (the “Game” group) or mechanically identical but less engaging conditions (the “Sterile” group). The game environment facilitated retention over a 1 week interval. Specifically, the Game group improved in both speed and accuracy for random and repeated trials, suggesting a general motor-related improvement, rather than a specific influence of engagement on implicit sequence learning. These data provide initial evidence that increased engagement during practice has a direct effect on generalized learning, improving retention and transfer of a complex motor skill.