Week 6 Flashcards
What does visual-auditory integration help us with? Mismatches?
- reading lips, seeing music performances, localizing sounds
- “ba vs Fa”, dubbed movies, ventriloquism
What does visual-kinesthetic integration help us with? Mismatches?
- hand eye coordination, driving a car, dancing in a mirror
- virtual reality, motion sickness, mirror illusions
What does auditory-kinesthetic integration help us with? Mismatches?
- playing an instrument, typing on a keyboard, walking on different surfaces
- silent instruments, phantom sound vibration
Attention is limited and serial, what does this mean?
- we can only attend to one thing at a time
- we attend one thing, then another
What are the 3 links between attention and motor behaviour?
alertness, divided attention, and selective attention
What is alertness?
- necessary for preparing for a motor task
- assessing reaction time (onset of stimulus to initiation of response)
What is divided attention?
- concentrating on more than one activity at the same time
- interference occurs when another activity uses same resources
→ loss of speed or quality in performance in one activity
→ decreased quality of both activities
→ one activity is ignored - each person has different capacities
Divided attention is tested using dual-task paradigm. What does this mean?
- doing two tasks simultaneously and comparing with single task performance
- younger children tend to divide attention equally
- older children attend to the primary task
Capacity allocation (time-sharing efficiency) improves with….
Age
- get better at automation: perform effectively with less resources on one task, and free up resources for another task
- get better at choosing tasks to attend to more
What is selective attention?
processing relevant information while not processing irrelevant information
What is the cocktail party effect?
- we tend to filter out background noise and pay attention to certain sounds
- but brain also picks out self relevant information (e.g. hearing your name in a loud atmosphere
How does selective attention develop?
- 4 months of age
- grows until age 12
- older children are more organized and strategic in their processing abilities
- young children, compared to older children have less concentration, most often pay exclusive attention to one event and are more easily distracted
Why is younger children worse with selective attention than older children?
mostly can be explained by experience and refining operational functioning - older children know better what is relevant and what is not
What is memory?
- retaining and storing information for future retrieval
- permits us to benefit from past experiences
- differences in effectiveness are related to more refinement and efficiency differences, rather than capacity differences
What is recognition?
- is the stimulus similar to one previously experienced?
Examples: - recognizing a defensive formation you’e seen in previous games
- identifying your car in a parking lot
What is recall?
can I remember a stimulus that is not present?
Examples:
- a gymnast performing a complex routine from memory without reminders
- cooking while remembering a recipe by heart
What is working memory? How many items at a time?
- allows us to manipulate and assemble info
- transfer into to and from long-term memory
- limited duration (around 30s)
- 7 ± 2 items at a time
What are the two ways to store more in working memory?
- grouping items (chunking)
- rehearsal
What is long-term memory?
- transferred from working memory to be more permanent
- seemingly unlimited storage
duration and capacity - depends on what control processes and strategies people use when they are remembering (rehearsal, coding, decisions, retrieval)
- helps us remember skills over a lifetime
What is habituation and dishabituation? How do they develop?
habituation: repeated stimulus is introduced to child. They react less, look disconnected, don’t attend, perhaps bored
dishabituation: new stimulus; they have renewned, response, spend longer looking at it is more interested in it
- Habituation improves over first year rapidly, 5-12-month-olds exhibiting ability
really well
What is cued recall?
retrieving a memory with the help of a specific cue or prompt
e.g. a basketball coach yelling follow through
What is contextual learning?
- learning is tied to a specific environment or situation, making it easier to recall in the same context
e.g. performing well on a similar gold course that you practiced on
The mobile kicking study is evidence of…..
infant memory and motor learning as well as contextual learning
How does working memory develop?
- recall ability improves into early adolescence
- become more efficient information processors (recognize relevant info quicker, more skilled at performing cognitive tasks)
- processing capacity also contributes (younger children still developing their attention and memory systems, older adults experiencing declines)
- optimal performance dependent on both process capacity and efficiency
How does long term memory develop?
Age 2: Children can tell stories about previous events
Age 5: Children can rehearse and memorize information with help
Age 10: Children will independently rehearse tasks; Elaboration strategies evident (e.g., thinking more to help remember)
Adults: Organize information in ways to assist with retrieval
What are continuous skills?
- skills without a beginning or end
- easier to remember
- practiced regularly, automatic
- less likely to forget
What are discrete skills
- skills with a distinct beginning and end
- more cognitively demanding
- tied to specific contexts
- more likely to forget
What is the difference between explicit and implicit memory?
- Explicit memory is more
cognitively demanding - Implicit memory is more
unconscious, and
automatic - Both forms of memory
improve with age - Older children and adults
are better due to more
visual working memory
What should we know about knowledge and memory?
- closely associated
- knowledge can provide meaning
- can better support memory
What is reaction time? Simple vs choice?
reaction time: time between onset of a stimulus and motor response
simple: asked to respond to one stimulus (sprinters starting)
choice: asked to respond to choice of multiple stimuli (goalie)
What is hick’s law
- reaction time increases linearly as info load increases
- takes more time to process in more complex tasks
e.g. a simple food menu will warrant a lower reaction time to process a choice than a more complex menu
What is movement time?
the time it takes to complete a motor task
What is response time?
reaction time + movement time (info per second)
Describe information processing over time
- Rapid improvement in childhood
- Steady improvement with age
- 5-year-old takes 2-3x more time to process than a 17 year old
What is Fitt’s law (speed-accuracy tradeoff)
- the more quickly you try to do something, the less accurate it might be
e.g. taking time while shooting will lead to more accuracy than hasty/quick shots, a slapshot might offer more speed and force, but less accuracy
Describe the development of processing speed and Fitt’s law
- Young children and older adults are slower, more variable, less smooth in movements in comparison to young adults
- Processing speed and motor control improve with age and experience
- Young adults are better at pre-planning, fluidity
- Advanced aging:
→ Age-related declines in processing speed and muscle control
→ Require more corrections compared to younger adults
How does attention change with advanced aging?
- Can attend on easy tasks
- Harder tasks – older adults need more resources to complete basic tasks
- Older adults can be fine with cues for selective attention
How does working memory change with advanced aging?
- Stable mostly in adulthood, declines in older adulthood
- Complex thinking requires more resources for older adults
- Slow at search and retrieve
How does long-term memory change with advanced aging?
- Difficulties with specific details
- Not using elaborate strategies
- Memory training can improve this
How does processing speed change with advanced aging?
Slow down of processing speed (slower reaction times)
* Especially in tasks requiring decision-making and planning
* Staying active helps
How does psychomotor slowing occur with advanced aging?
neuron loss, synaptic delay, decrease in nerve conduction
velocity
How does skill building change with advanced aging?
Older adults can learn new skills with practice, especially if accuracy isn’t necessary.
What is the Schema Theory for programming?
- initial work in this field considered a generalized motor program: retrieve the program, add parameters, and then perform the skills
- built on piaget
- supported the notion that variability practice on a given task will help prompt better learning
- however motor learning process is more sophisticated than just a generalized motor program
Generally describe the developmental biodynamics theory
- coordinative structures, dynamic systems perspective, and neuronal group selection
- organism in context
- organism is inseparable from environment
- behaviour and development emerge from system-wider interactions
What are the coordinative structures in developmental biomechanics?
- refers to how motor control involves activating muscles in groups, not just individually, to perform movements smoothly
- researchers use EMG to see how muscles activate together when we perform movements like reaching, grasping or maintaining balance
What is the dynamic systems perspective in developmental biomechanics?
- the body is a complex system connected with the environment
- movement is self organizing:
- Movement is “softly assembled”, not hard- wired
- Subsystems need to work
together (coordinate) - Subsystems are “constraints”: they limit or enable behaviour
- Rate limiters: type of constraint
that slows down or prevents emergence of a behaviour or skill - Movement considers mechanical forces (parameters like speed, position, size of body, segments, intentions all play a role
- transitioning to a new movement pattern can be bumpy (assembly, then tuning)
What is the neuronal group selection in developmental biomechanics?
explains how coordinated movements happen; related to neurons, genetics, and interactions with the environment
- early wiring is flexible (neuronal circuits are not
pre-wired to perform specific skills; structural variability: broad set of potential movement pathways but not locked in; interact with environment and have experiences, wiring strengthens or is lost
- neurons work in groups to coordinate movement; spontaneous adaptability
What is the arrangement in the neuronal group selection theory?
- Neuronal groups are mapped onto different parts of the brain
- Responsible for different parts of the body
- Long-range neural connections across different parts for coordination
What is developmental cognitive neuroscience?
- Field that looks at the developing brain and cognitive ability
- Uses brain imaging and computational modeling
- Detect or map patterns of activation
- Has supported existing theories/ideas:
→ Cognitive tasks can activate both motor and
cognitive-control areas – suggesting connections
between areas
→ Not pre-wired but adaptable
→ Brain plasticity influenced by environment
What are constraints in Newell’s model of constraints?
- discourage or limit certain movements
- encourage or permits other movements
- “shape” movements channel away from some movements like towards others
- constraints interact with one another
What are individual constraints in Newell’s model?
- Unique physical, mental
characteristics: internal
Structural: related to the body’s
structure (Height, Muscle mass)
Functional: related to behavioural function (Attention, Motivation)
What are environmental constraints in Newell’s model?
- properties of the environment
- global, not task specific
- physical: temp, humidity, terrain, lighting etc.
- sociocultural: gender norms, societal norms, cultural norms
What are task constraints in Newell’s model?
- specific task requirements or goals
- external
- not related to individual
- factors such as goal of task, rules guiding task performance, equipment
