CH 10- CONDITIONS OF PRACTICE

Question 1

verbal information

Answer 1

teaches the learner about the skill, explaining the mechanical principles underlying the skill
-detailed knowledge could be hindering to learning + sometimes no awareness of learning could be more effective

Question 2

learning without knowledge- experiments that show some knowledge is helpful

Answer 2

-Judd (1908): throwing darts to targets under water
-Hendrickson + Shroeder (1941): shooting an air gun under water

Question 3

learning without knowedlge- experiments that show all knowledge is not necessary

Answer 3

-Polani (1958): bicycle balance
-Wulf + Weigelt (1997): complex ski-simulator tasks (slalom)

Question 4

Wulf + Weigelt, 1997

Answer 4

complex ski-simulator tasks (slalom)

-involved bowed rails in a platform on wheels with elastic rubber belts + the subjects were simulating slalom skiing
-goal was to make oscillatory movements with force against the platform
-1 group was given efficient pattern information ahead of time; other group wasn’t given any information ahead of time + had to do trial/error on their own
-the group with advance information performed less effectively + made less progress than group without prior knowledge, due to TMI

Question 5

implicit learning

Answer 5

learning without awareness

-implicit learning can be better than explicit; information/instructions intended to help learning motor skills isn’t always effective + can be detrimental to learning process

Question 6

focus of attention

Answer 6

-instructed external focus on intended movement effects is vital for optimal learning
-aka, we want to know how we will move overall

Question 7

external focus leads to …

Answer 7

greater automaticity + generally more effective motor coordination + movement outcomes

-aka, paying attention to something outside the body is better than paying attention to something inside

Question 8

is internal or external focus better

Answer 8

-external focus > internal focus; external focus usually has best performance

-external focus is PERMANENT in learning, + doesn’t just affect performance which is temporary; external focus impacts learning, NOT just performance

Question 9

effects of attentional focus instructions

Answer 9

-within-participant designs have compared internal, external, + control conditions for focus
-benefits gained during practice persist, even when external focus isn’t maintained

Question 10

study done on attentional focus instructions

Answer 10

-RMSE: root mean square error (aka, how many mistakes were made); on the y-axis

-in this study, there was a supra-postural task during a balanced practice setup where subjects were standing in a balancing task + holding an object in their hands
-subjects were told either to focus on hand (internal) or on an object they were holding (external); another group wasn’t told anything
-results were consistent in beginning, but after practice, we can see that external focus group produced fewest errors
-during retention + transfer set ups, external focus was STILL the best

Question 11

**

distance effects

Answer 11

-motor skills may have more than 1 movement effects, resulting in a choice of what to focus on (ex: a player can focus on the part of the ball to strike, trajectory of the ball, or hitting a target)
-for this, consider the distance of movement effect from the body; more distal external focal points are more effective than proximal (aka, further away is better)

Question 12

Banks + colleagues, 2015

Answer 12

-looked at kayakers + evaluated whether there was faster race time when focusing on finish line or paddle
-study found that focusing on finish line (further away) was better

Question 13

Bell + Hardy, 2009

Answer 13

-evaluated golfers for focusing on ball trajectory, landing point, or club
-study found that the landing point was most significant impact on accuracy

Question 14

McKay + Wolf, 2012

Answer 14

-looked at dart throwing accuracy; subjects focused on bullseye or trajectory of dart
-study found that focusing on bullseye (furthest away) was better

Question 15

Porter + colleagues, 2012

Answer 15

-looked at distance jumped for long jump
-study found that when athletes paid attention to target further away rather than nearby start lines, they performed better

Question 16

**

experience level effects

Answer 16

-novice performers still acquiring the basic movement patterns may benefit more from external focus that is technique-related (proximal)
-aka, especially when it comes to newbies, focusing on external is better

-ex: pro tennis player Roger Federer is more prone to focus internally to very specific technique than a novice player would be; novice player is so overwhelmed with the basic movement patterns that being told to pay attention to their own technique may be overwhelming + cause detriments to performance

Question 17

wording of instructions/feedback can impact performance + learning profoundly

Answer 17

-optimal focus isn’t always adopted, especially if coaches have instructed based on body movements
-some types of focus depend on the skill + combine foci

Question 18

ex: dancer doing complete static balance over a long period of time

describe instructions/feedback

Answer 18

subject must think about legs, arms, etc. while doing this static task + has longer time to modify her movements

Question 19

ex: dancer doing dynamic + ballistic skills with little time for conscious control

describe instructions/feedback

Answer 19

subject is better if adopting external focus (imagining a glide through the air/jumping over something/reaching for the sky) + analogy from instructor would be beneficial (“reach as if you’re reaching for the sky)

Question 20

motivational influences

Answer 20

motivation has indirect effect on motor learning, may encourage learners to practice more
-social-cognitive-affective influence on human behavior; there is an impact of self-efficacy
-impacts attitude

Question 21

confidence is reflected in what

Answer 21

movement fluidity/automaticity
-success breeds confidence + potentiates further success
-practice that increases self-efficacy facilitates learning + mistakes can lead to further mistakes

Question 22

learning is more effective when…

Answer 22

-positive social-comparative information is provided
* if we compare our subjects with others similar to them + say “those people did really well, you can too”, our subjects will do better
-task appears less complex or concerns are limited
-success is defined with less stringent criterion
* if our bullseye is bigger, they will feel as if they were more successful

Question 23

**

social-comparative information

Answer 23

-when learners believe they are performing a certain way, their learning is impacted
-using positive vs negative vs no feedback (control) does have an impact

Question 24

perceptions of task difficulty

Answer 24

facilitate learning by enhancing performer expectations or alleviating concerns

Question 25

Wulf. Chivacowsky, + Lewthwaite, 2012

Answer 25

-age-based study where older adults learned a novel + challenging balance task
-enhanced expectancy group was told people perform well on task; this made task less daunting + alleviated concerns related to reduced neuromuscular abilities
-we care about retention because it is a way to measure permanent motor learning

Question 26

**

observational learning

Answer 26

-learning from a model; demonstrates skill so learners can observe the action directly
-can be done in person or via videos/photos of skilled performers
-information can be represented spatially + can be modeled if the spatial attributes are presented in static, discrete ways (start + finish to each movement); ex: sign language
-even very fine spatial information can successfully be learned through demonstration; ex: difficult suture in surgery

Question 27

**

mirror neurons

Answer 27

neuron that fires BOTH when animal acts + when animal observes the same action

-neuron mirrors the behavior of the other; monkey see, monkey do

Question 28

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mental practice

Answer 28

mental rehearsal of the performance of a task, using imagery techniques in the absence of overt physical practice

Question 29

Hird et al., 1991

Answer 29

-compared mental vs physical practice using 12 experimental groups; 6 groups pegboard test + 6 groups pursuit rotor task, control group performed unrelated task on stabilometer for same time
-pretest -> 7 sessions of training -> posttest
-pegboard results- there was reduced practice improvement with the mental group compared to the physical; mental was much better for the control group
-pursuit rotor results- reduction in how well subjects performed, the fewer physical sessions they had; we see having some sort of mental practice is better than NO mental or physical at all

Question 30

when not possible, ____ is better than nothing

Answer 30

mental practice
-it is important to recognize in patients with disorders that don’t allow them to move at all (or as well as healthy individuals), visualization is SO impactful
-we can see that brain regions are turned on even when picturing movements

Question 31

work periods

Answer 31

time spent actually practicing

Question 32

rest periods

Answer 32

time not practicing

Question 33

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distribution of practice

Answer 33

scheduling work periods + rest periods; imperative for working within constraints of shorter time frames + longer time scales

Question 34

massing

Answer 34

putting things together, running work periods close together with no or limited rest intervals

Question 35

distributing

Answer 35

spacing work periods with longer rest intervals

Question 36

**

main points of distribution of practice

Answer 36

-short rest periods degrade performance; longer rest periods result in more effective performances
-fatigue
-temporary performance + relatively permanent learning

Question 37

Badly + Longman, 1978

Answer 37

-looked at massed vs distributed practice for training postal workers using a keyboard under different practice distribution schedules
-found that shorter rest periods degrade performance + longer rest periods resulted in more effective performance
-SO, give your athlete some rest
-recognized fatigue plays significant role on when rest periods are too short
-recognized that temporary performance + relatively permanent learning was more enhanced for permanent learning when practice was distributed (split up)

Question 38

**

variability of practice

Answer 38

-learning is influenced by variability- this is recognized by the fact that some tasks have inherent variability
-acquiring capability to cope with novel situations is vital in open skills
* ex: steering a car down an unfamiliar road
* constant, unvarying situations wouldn’t be appropriate
-variable practice is not obvious during closed skills, where environmental conditions are always similar
* ex: bowling
* constant settings are preferred

Question 39

**

retention + transfer are ways we measure ____

Answer 39

permanent learning

Question 40

**

practicing the same or similar tasks facilitates retention/transfer

Answer 40

retention

Question 41

**

variable practice increases generalizability during retention/transfer

Answer 41

transfer

Question 43

other factors that influence the effects of variability

Answer 43

-subject characteristics (age, nature of task, etc.)
-contextual interference (due to context in which skills are practiced)

Question 44

**

guidance

Answer 44

-learner is physically assisted through the task being learned
-variety of procedures (physical pushing + pulling through movement sequences, preventing incorrect movements by physical limitations or a verbal talk-through of the actions)
-recognize that performance will be better DURING guidance, so transfer is imperative

Question 45

Armstrong, 1970

Answer 45

-looked at 3 day practice with transfer test on 3rd day when no augmented information was provided to any of the subjects

-groups:
* terminal knowledge of performance- got feedback about how they performed AT END
* concurrent knowledge of performance- got feedback about how they performed WHILE they were doing the movements
* guidance- had physical guidance that kept their elbow movements in specific location

-during blocks of trials (practice/acquisition phase): guidance group had little error, concurrent KP did reasonable + improved, terminal KP didn’t do as well as other groups but still improved
-in the transfer: guidance group didn’t do well, concurrent KP didn’t do well either, best group was terminal KP
-this means guidance is fine but won’t do subjects well in terms of learning (transfer test) because they won’t be able to perform without the device
-feedback (knowledge of power) is useful; the best time to give feedback is after a set of trials (terminal KP), after subjects made changes on their own

Question 46

**

instances where guidance may be beneficial

Answer 46

-when interspersed with active practice trials
-when used with complex tasks
-when it is less physically restrictive + allows subjects to manipulate some aspects of the apparatus involved

Question 47

**

generalizations on guidance

Answer 47

-may be effective in early practice when task is unfamiliar (but should be removed later on)
-may be most effective for slow tasks; rapid or ballistic tasks not benefitted
-prevention of injury or reduction of fear (manual assistance, harnesses, spotting belts)

Question 48

summary

attention can be ____ + have impact during practice

Answer 48

redirected

Question 49

summary

____ is a strong influencer of practice

Answer 49

motivation

Question 50

summary

learning by observation is possible, as is mental practice; nothing is as impactful as ____

Answer 50

physical practice

Question 51

summary

guidance can have useful influence over practice, depending on ____

Answer 51

scenario