Motor Learning Flashcards
Motor Learning
A relatively permanent change in the performance level of a motor skill as a result of practice
Stages of Motor Learning
- Cognitive
- Associative
- Autonomous
Cognitive Stage
- learning basics (typically not in this area for too long)
- movements characterized by:
- > Limited Success
- > Jerky movements
- > Poor timing
Ways to coach someone in cognitive stage
- teach basic skills
- have the person follow an example
- provide feedback frequently
- distributed practice
- etc.
Associative Stage
- Fundamentals have been established
- Skill is not perfect
- Individual can usually detect their own error
- Less thought required to do skill
- Where the majority of people are for their skills
Ways to coach someone in cognitive stage
- Mass practice needed
Autonomous Stage
- Skill performed with little thought
- Able to apply the skill in many different scenarios
Ways to coach someone in autonomous stage
- very difficult because not much needed to change
- only refinement
Tool used to test motor learning
Pursuit motor
Factors affecting Learning
- Physical Characteristics
- Endurance / Strength / Flexibility
- Psychosocial factors
- Prior skills
- Appropriate feedback
Principles to consider in practice:
- Speed accuracy
- Massed vs. distributed practice
- Whole vs. part
Feedback Hierarchy
Task intrinsic feedback:
- visual
- auditory
- proprioceptive
- tactile
Augmented Feedback:
- Knowledge of Results (KR)
- Knowledge of Performance (KP)
Changes that occur with Motor Learning
- Improves coordination
- Changing preferred coordination patterns from old patterns
- Changes in muscles used to perform skill
- Changes in energy cost
- Changes in Visual Selective Attention
- Changes in Attention Demands
- Changes in error detection and correction capability
- Changes in brain activity (Neuroplasticity)
Expertise
- Intense deliberate practice for minimum of 10 years in order to become expert
- Knowledge becomes more organized
- More efficient use of vision
General characteristics of learning
- Improvement
- Consistency
- Stability
- Persistence
- Adaptability
Examples of Adaptation
Closed skill: - Golf - Walking - Shooting free throw Open skill: - Catching a ball - Driving a car
How do we infer learning?
Retention test:
- tests given after an empty period without practice
Transfer test:
test with changes of task conditions
Performance Plateau
- Thought to be periods of transition between the phases of motor learning
- Low attention, motivation, or fatigue
- Trying out different movement strategies
- Usually not seen in research papers because they show the average of several participants
- Different than the ceiling or floor effect
