Conscious motor processing and movement self-consciousness: two dimensions of personality that influence laparoscopic training.
BACKGROUND
Identifying personality factors that account for individual differences in surgical training and performance has practical implications for surgical education. Movement-specific reinvestment is a potentially relevant personality factor that has a moderating effect on laparoscopic performance under time pressure. Movement-specific reinvestment has 2 dimensions, which represent an individual's propensity to consciously control movements (conscious motor processing) or to consciously monitor their 'style' of movement (movement self-consciousness).


OBJECTIVE
This study aimed at investigating the moderating effects of the 2 dimensions of movement-specific reinvestment in the learning and updating (cross-handed technique) of laparoscopic skills.


METHODS
Medical students completed the Movement-Specific Reinvestment Scale, a psychometric assessment tool that evaluates the conscious motor processing and movement self-consciousness dimensions of movement-specific reinvestment. They were then trained to a criterion level of proficiency on a fundamental laparoscopic skills task and were tested on a novel cross-handed technique. Completion times were recorded for early-learning, late-learning, and cross-handed trials.


RESULTS
Propensity for movement self-consciousness but not conscious motor processing was a significant predictor of task completion times both early (p = 0.036) and late (p = 0.002) in learning, but completion times during the cross-handed trials were predicted by the propensity for conscious motor processing (p = 0.04) rather than movement self-consciousness (p = 0.21).


CONCLUSION
Higher propensity for movement self-consciousness is associated with slower performance times on novel and well-practiced laparoscopic tasks. For complex surgical techniques, however, conscious motor processing plays a more influential role in performance than movement self-consciousness. The findings imply that these 2 dimensions of movement-specific reinvestment have a differential influence in the learning and updating of laparoscopic skills.
['Malhotra|Neha|N|', 'Poolton|Jamie M|JM|', 'Wilson|Mark R|MR|', 'Fan|Joe K M|JK|', 'Masters|Rich S W|RS|']
D000328:Adult D002983:Clinical Competence D003243:Consciousness D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate D006723:Hong Kong D006801:Humans D010535:Laparoscopy D008297:Male D009048:Motor Skills D009068:Movement D011594:Psychometrics
self-consciousness laparoscopic training personality factors reinvestment cross-handed technique Medical Knowledge Patient Care Practice-Based Learning and Improvement conscious control