Practice-Test Context Effects An important influence on the retention of motor skill lls is the relationship between the context of practice and the context at the time of the test. The context of a movement relates to both the environmental conditions in which the movement is per formed as well as to characteristics related to the person performing the movement. For example, i a memory experiment is performed in a laboratory the environmental context includes such things as the room in which the experiment is done, the experimenter, the time of day, the noise the participant can hear, the lighting, and so on. Personal context involves such things as the mood of the individual, the limb used to make the movement, the sitting or standing position of the subject, and the sensory feedback sources that are available to the subject.