The why? and how? of IML - 4.2 Flashcards
what are the features of IL?
Unconscious / non-verbal
how might IML be useful?
To prevent reinvestment under pressure
Consciously controlling movement
how would we know if learning is implicit?
behavioural (rules / PRT) and neural measures
Neurological evidence - Lower left temporal-frontal connectivity characterises expert and accurate performance: high-alpha T7-Fz connectivity as a marker of conscious processing during movement
findings provide additional evidence that communication between verbal/language and motor areas of the brain during prep for action and its execution is associated wit poor motor perf
validate high alpha left temporal-frontal connectivity as a neurophys correlate of movement specific conscious processing
so why might IML be useful? (anticipation) - Abernethy, Schorer, Jackson and Hagemann (2012)
Only the implicit learning group showed performance superior to the control groups under the stress situation
means to IML
Restrict build-up of declarative knowledge
main mechanisms:
- Loading working memory with a secondary task
- Errorless Learning
- Analogy Learning
other potential mechanisms
- No Outcome Feedback
- Marginally Perceptive Outcome feedback
- Quiet Eye Training (?)
- Brain stimulation (neuro doping) - No solid research to support brain stimulation. There are ST effect for TMS, but they don’t last.
dual task learning
the learning of a skill while simultaneously performing another task
the second task can be a motor or cog task but must be attention demanding
Masters (1992)
random letter generation while learning to putt
learned implicitly (i.e., no explicit knowledge of how they putted)
robust under psychological stress (e.g., financial incentives)
Masters (1992) method
Learning Phase (400 trials) & Test Phase (100 trials)
Novices, golf putting to 150cm target (slight incline)
Five treatment conditions:
1. Implicit learning (IL) – learn using a resource limiting
secondary task (random letter generation – Baddely, 1966)
2. Explicit learning (EL) – given rules
3. Implicit learning control (ILC) – unstressed in Test Phase [as a check of whether change was due to no longer doing the secondary task or due to stress]
4. Stressed Control (SC) – discovery learning
5. Non-stressed Control (N-SC) – discovery learning but no stress in Test Phase [to check whether learning assymptoted]
Stress Phase – evaluation apprehension (Cottrell, 1972) + financial inducement
- stress manipulation checks:
State Scale of State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger et al, 1970); heart rate; time to complete the session (Bond & Titus, 1983)
Explicit knowledge – verbal protocols
classic characteristics of IL
lack of explicit verbal knowledge
robustness to stress
a phenomenal sense of intuition (anecdotal)
Maxwell, Masters and Eves (2000)
“Future research should attempt to establish alternative methods to encourage implicit skill acquisition and discourage the use of explicit strategies… (p. 118).
i.e. It is not much use to coaches if performers are more robust under stress but it takes them longer to get good in the first place
Errorless learning
learning is fac by constraining the learning env so that v. few errors occur
Trying to minimise mistakes, rather than not making any errors at all.
We are predisposed to remember negative things, and this causes us to think about how we can prevent this in the future.
However, this process again does take longer.
If performance is successful a hypothesis testing strategy is unlikely to be adopted, since the system is likely to be satisfied that the goal of the action has been achieved.
Start easy – don’t miss – gradually increase difficulty – E.g. Putt from 25 cm, 50 cm —- 200cm
Under pressure Errorless learners perform better (and report fewer rules)
– i.e. Have not choked via the process of reinvestment
is the slow progression task dependent?
If you give choice response task when movement is being prepared you get lots of benefits in terms of forgetting. Also, if you give it during the actual movement you get better performance too.
the implicit benefit of learning without errors - Maxwell, Masters, Kerr and Weedon (2001)
The golf putting performance of errorless learners in both studies was unaffected by the imposition of a secondary task load, whereas the performance of errorful learners deteriorated.
IML in PDs - Masters, MacMahon and Pall (2004)
Patients in the errorless (implicit) motor learning condition exhibited robustness to secondary task loading, whereas patients in the errorful (explicit) motor learning condition did not.
