When modifying established, automatized skills, performers often experience proactive interference resulting in initial performance decrements. Notably, individuals seem to differ quite largely with respect to their interference susceptibility. The aim of the present study was to scrutinize the roots of these interindividual differences by examining the role of executive functions, age, baseline performance and gaze behavior applying a motor skill change task. As the ability to deal with proactive interference seems to be particularly linked to inhibitory mechanisms, we also assessed whether the application of a motor restriction which prevents unwanted movements may facilitate inhibition and hence result in less proactive interference. To this end, skilled touch-typists were confronted with a rule change that prohibited the left index finger for subsequent typing which immediately disrupted participants' automatized typing fluency. Regression analyses revealed that the amount of interference was significantly related to age and that the application of a motor restriction tended to predict less proactive interference. Additional correlation analyses revealed that a higher amount of proactive interference was also associated with higher baseline performance and lower prepotent response inhibition abilities. However, none of the remaining executive functions could explain the amount of interference. It follows that individual factors such as age, baseline performance and prepotent response inhibition as well as the physical option to execute a certain movement may play important roles in overcoming proactive interference when changing automatized skills.
Adult Executive Function