What Effects Do Practice and Video Feedback Have on the Development of Interpersonal Communication Skills?

The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of the number of practice and feedback sessions on the development of select interpersonal communication skills.Measures were taken to determine whether the effects were only immediate or whetherthe subjects retained the information and new communication skills for a longerperiod of time. To test the effects associated with various combinations of practice and video feedback,211 subjects were assigned to ten treatment groups plus a control group. Both cognitiverecall scores and evaluations of the performance of interpersonal communication skillswere taken two days prior to training, immediately after instruction, and both two-days and a two-weeks later. Results indicated that practice and feedback had a marked influence on the acquisition of interpersonal communication skills, but each seemed to be influencing differentaspects of learning. Practice initially heightened the potential to learn the informationabout what to do, while feedback increased performance scores. Over time, however,the combination of both practice and video feedback produced the greatest effect onlong term performance scores. Decay in the levels of achievement after training weremore rapid in performance than in cognitive scores. Overlearning through practiceand feedback was recommended as a way to produce long-term information retentionand sustained skill performance.