Mazur Chapter 12: Learning Motor Skills Flashcards
Various Theoretical Approaches to Motor Skills
Behavioral:
Starts with Thorndike, continues through first half of 20th century
Physiological:
Neural mechanisms of movement and what parts of the brain, spinal cord, and body are involved.
Cognitive:
information-processing approach
Discrete Movements
Discrete and Continuous represent a spectrum. Many behaviors are in-between.
completed shortly after they’ve begun (pressing a stopwatch, scratching your ass)
Most are open-loop movements: once the movement begins, it’s too late to make any corrections
Continuous Movements
Extend for an indefinite period (balancing, running from police)
Most are closed-loop movements: continually receive feedback about whether the movement is working right.
If you feel yourself tipping on a bike, you can lean to correct yourself.
Some demand exactly the same movements every time; others are modified to the situation
Foul shot vs. golf putt. Foul shot is always the same movement, but golf putt will be from a different spot every time
The Law of Effect and Motor Learning
Thorndike: Px blindfolded and told to draw a 3-inch line
Group 1: If it was about 3 inches, “right!”
If it did not meet criteria, “wrong!”
Group 2: no feedback
Group 1 showed improved accuracy as trials progressed. Law of Effect functions here to “stamp in” correct response.
Knowledge of Results (KR)
Coach should give feedback on some practice shots, but not all. Athlete learns to detect and correct errors.
Delaying KR
o When receiving continuous feedback, small delays cause big problems.
• EX: speaking while wearing headphones with slightly delayed audio monitor → people can’t really speak
This does NOT happen when the task provides learner with feedback after movement is completed.
Delays hinder classical and operant learning, so why don’t delays hinder learning of KR slow positioning tasks?
Guidance hypothesis: immediate KR makes the learner dependent. Delay causes a need to learn to rely on own senses and thus fewer errors on test trials.
Knowledge of Performance (KP)
Information about the sequence of components of a complex movement
KR is how close you are to the goal (You completed the kick in 800 ms)
KP is info about how you performed (Compare your movement to this ideal kick video)
KR shows improvement, KP shows even greater improvement. Sometimes, dramatic difference
Distribution of Practice
Performance is better if rest periods are interspersed among fairly brief practice periods.
Distributed practice is better than massed practice
Observational Learning of Motor Skills
Simply observing another person perform a motor task is not enough. Best when combined with direct practice.
Observation may lead to learning of perceptual aspects of task, while direct practice facilitates the motor learning needed
Transfer from Previous Training
Similar to generalization.
Positive transfer–practice in one task aids on similar task
Negative transfer –practice on one task interferes with acquisition of similar task
Lots of evidence for positive transfer, not as much for negative transfer
Negative might occur when two tasks require antagonistic responses (tap left hand, wiggle right hand→switch hands harder)
Motor learning is NOT just about specific muscle movements, because experienced learners can transfer new skills to tasks that require same general patterns but using different muscle groups.
Ironic Errors in Movement
People make the movements they are trying NOT to make, especially if distracted
Some individuals are more prone to ironic errors than others.
May be helpful to reduce “mental load” distractors
Adam’s Two-Stage Theory (1971)
Perceptual Trace – Like a reference input in control systems theory
When we begin to learn, the perceptual trace is weak or nonexistent
Motor (or Memory) Trace – Like the action system in control systems theory
This boils down to a two-stage model: (1) verbal-motor stage and (2) motor stage
(1) Improvement depends on delivery of feedback (KR). Learning good trial vs. bad trial. “Hey, that line is a little too short;” “that pitch is a little flat”
(2) Once the KR leads to reduction in error, the response is being made and now S can switch to using just the perceptual trace
Feedback from the coach becomes less important.
Basically, it’s about learning how it feels to make a good response and learning to produce that response consistently
Schmidt’s Schema Theory (1975)
One limit of Adam’s theory is that it only addresses single, repetitive movements (foul shot)
Schema Theory of motor-skill learning keeps most of Adam’s theory (learning to recognize response and learning to produce it)
Schmidt says that we don’t just learn about specific past movements (perceptual trace), we learn general rules (perceptual and motor schemas).
Schmidt’s theory predicts (but Adam’s doesn’t) that variability in practice is good because it helps broaden schemas
What is the best way to practice?
More difficult practice; better to vary training than specific practice.
Contextual interference – features of situation/context that make practice difficult
Practice basketball from a new spot every shot (random practice). Better than 10 here, 10 there, 10 there (blocked practice)
The Response Chain Approach
Response Chain – sequence of Bx that must occur in a specific order with a primary reinforcer following completion of last Bx in the chain
Each Bx in sequence produces a discriminative stimulus (SD) for the next response in chain.
Practice works because S-R associations are reinforced from the primary reinforcer
Motor Programs
Critical of response chain approach
Some movement sequences don’t depend on continual sensory feedback
Representation of movement patterns in the CNS
As a motor program is executed, certain neural impulses are sent out to muscles in the proper sequence, timing, force, etc.
Motor program vs. response chain EXAMPLE – typing the word “the”
o Response chain: person sees the word “the” in text to be typed, strikes the “t” key with left forefinger. This produces sensory feedback that serves as SD to make next response (striking “h” key with right forefinger). This is another SD for striking “e” with left middle finger.
o Motor Program: Above analysis may be correct for a beginning typist, but skilled typist would have a motor program. When typist sees “the” to type, this program is activated and sends a series of commands to muscles of left forefinger, right forefinger, and left middle finger. The commands are timed such that the movements occur in order, but the timing does not depend on sensory feedback from each successive movement. Typist should be able to make second keystroke before sensory feedback from first keystroke.
