Effects of positive and negative normative feedback on the learning of throwing task in children with spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy

Background: Cerebral palsy is a sensory and motor disease that affects control of posture and movement. Children with cerebral palsy show dysfunction in the body such as spasticity, decreased muscle strength, and selective control of movement that may limit functional activity and participation in daily life. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of positive normative feedback on the learning of a throwing task in children with spastic hemiplegic cerebral pals. Methods: Twenty-four children with cerebral palsy aged 8-10 years participated in an experimental design with acquisition-retention test. The children received positive or negative normative feedback after each practice of learning of throwing task. The positive feedback group received feedback after each block 20% higher than the average score of each block, whereas the negative feedback group received feedback 20% lower than the average score after each block. The control group received normal feedback. A retention test without any feedback was run 48 hours after the practice phase. Statistical tests including one-way analysis of variance and follow-up tests were used to analyze the data. Results: The results showed both in the acquisition stage (p = .001) and retention test (p = .001), the positive normative feedback group had better performance compared to the two other groups. Conclusions: The results demonstrated that positive normative feedback has a significant motivational effect that enhances the learning of a throwing task in children with cerebral palsy.