Reward and punishment differentially shape basketball free-throw learning

Abstract Motor learning is shaped by motivational context: punishment can accelerate initial learning, whereas reward enhances memory retention. Yet it remains unclear whether the dissociable effects of reward and punishment observed in laboratory tasks generalize to complex real-world skills. Here, we tested this idea using a naturalistic motor task—basketball free-throw shooting. Sixty-eight participants trained under four motivational contexts that differed only in how points were awarded for each pair of consecutive shots: control (standard scoring), reward (bonus points for two consecutive successful shots), punishment (penalty for two consecutive missed shots), or mixed (both bonus and penalty). Performance was assessed before training, immediately after, and 1 and 3 days later. Punishment and mixed schedules significantly improved early acquisition, resulting in higher accuracy immediately after training compared to the control and reward conditions. This advantage emerged during the first training block, indicating a rapid motivational influence on performance. In contrast, reward selectively enhanced offline consolidation: three days after training, the reward group showed the largest gains in accuracy, outperforming both the control and punishment groups. The mixed schedule produced quick early gains similar to punishment, but achieved smaller long-term improvements than reward. Consistent with these findings, individual punishment sensitivity was associated with gains in acquisition, while reward sensitivity correlated with offline improvements. Together, these findings demonstrate dissociable effects of motivational valence on the acquisition and consolidation of a complex real-world motor skill. More generally, they position motivational interventions as simple and cost-effective strategies to enhance rehabilitation and sports training.