Mazur pp. 277-285: Learning Motor Skills Flashcards
Delaying Knowledge of Results
Some believe small delays in feedback can produce marked deterioration in performance
With the performance worsening as the delay increases
Though some have found this not to be true in all cases
Delayed knowledge reporting (KR) has lead to more accurate outcomes than those who were immediately informed of their performance
Immediate KR provides guidance from the start but may lead to the participant becoming overly dependent on the feedback preventing self-improvement
Delaying KR leads to intrinsic improvement
However distraction during this delay leads to worse outcomes
Knowledge of performance (KP)
Providing participants with the knowledge involving information about the individual components of their actions
Commonly used in Olympic training
KP ≠ KR
KR = feedback on how close to the target the participant is
KP = provides information about the movements one has performed
• Detailed feedback
Distribution of Practice
Performance is better if rest periods are interspersed among fairly brief practice periods
Working straight through without a break = massed or continuous practice
Massed practice leads to a fatigue factor, which dissipates with rest
The advantages of distributed practice are only temporary however
If those who engage in massed practice rest, upon returning, their performance is equal to those who have engaged in distributed practice
Observational Learning of Motor Skills
Observational learning is more beneficial than not learning
Adding in practice along with observation makes it even better
Observation leads to
o Learning to perceive and attend to the appropriate cues
Direct practice leads to
o Developing motor components of the task
Positive transfer
Practicing one task aids in the acquisition of a later task
Its occurrence depends on how similar the task is
Negative transfer
Practicing one task interferes with the acquisition of a later task
More difficult to find in experimental settings
Temporary, only lasts a few trials
Occurs when two tasks require incompatible (antagonistic) skills
But how do we judge, scientifically, if two skills are antagonistic?
Ironic Errors in Movement
Ironic errors = the tendency to make a false movement that an individual is trying to avoid
More likely to occur if the individual is distracted
Or if we are attempting to balance a mental-load
Like spilling something when we are attempting not to do so
To prevent, train individuals to be comfortable with all possible situations they can encounter
This way they are not required to actively think through something when they encounter it, thereby reducing their mental load
Adam’s Two-Stage Theory
- Verbal-Motor Stage
- Motor Stage
Important concepts
- Perceptual trace
- Motor trace
Perceptual trace
Corresponds to the reference input of a control systems theory
When we first learn a task, we have a poor ability to “trace,” or follow along, with the new behavior
Motor trace, or memory trace
The actual lack in the ability to perform the desired, new behavior
Stage 1 = verbal-motor stage
Improvement depends on feedback because the individual does not have an accurate perceptual trace and therefore cannot discriminate between proper or improper technique
Requires KR feedback
If intermediate, proper learning cannot take place
The more trials done with KR earlier, before they cease, the more the individual learns
Also providing a delay of a few seconds may be optimal
Allows the participant time to judge one’s perceptual trace
This stage ends as the individual is able to accurately judge their performance
Stage 2 = motor stage
Relying on one’s own internal perceptual trace, one is able to accurately judge one’s performance
Through refining precise skills, one improves
Distinguishes between two types of learning:
- Learning to recognize what it feels like to make an accurate response
- Learning to produce an accurate response consistently
