Week 1.1: Intro Flashcards
Motor learning
Set of processes related to practice or experience that lead to permanent changes in movement capability
Motor control
Area understanding the neural, physical, and behavioral aspects of movement
Why study motor learning and control?
To improve teaching, coaching, rehabilitation, and technology applications
What are key challenges in studying motor behavior?
Movement is influenced by the individual, task, and environment.
Plato and Aristotle
Linked movement to cognition
Descartes
Introduced the concept of dualism, which argued that reality or existence is divided into two parts, (and humanity): the mind and the body. He saw the mind and the physical body as two distinct entities
George Berkeley
All knowledge comes from perception; what we perceive are ideas, not things in themselves. New Theory of Vision: A being with perfect sight but “devoid of the sense of touch” could not develop the ability to perceive three dimensions (would not understand solid or quantity)
Interdisciplinary Roots
Includes psychology, neuroscience, and biomechanics
Thorndike’s Law of Effect
Reinforcement strengthens motor skills
Behaviors followed by a reward or reinforcement are more likely to be repeated, whereas behaviors followed by a punishment are less likely to be repeated.
*parallels operant conditioning
Woodworth’s Phases (1899):
Ballistic phase of movement and an online control phase. Still reflected in models today
Skoglund’s Joint Angle Receptors (1956):
Integrated physiology into motor behaviour studies.
Hull (1943)
Fatigue as a result of practice is the mechanism underlying learning
-Psychology abandoned motor learning after this theory proved not to be true
According to Hull (1943), the best metric for measuring the effectiveness of a learning session is by a Change in Maximum Voluntary Contraction (fatigue influenced)
Franklin M. Henry (post WWII)
-Development of Motor Programming theory
-Development of the concept of Motor Abilities
