Chapter 8: Motor Learning and Control

concerned with the interactions of all the body's systems

structure

function

cognitive functioning

biomechanics physical components of the skill without the psychological component

have a distinct beginning and a distinct ending (tennis serve, gold swing, shooting a basketball, writing your name)

have no distinct ending and cannot be completely preplanned (attempting to catch a parakeet in a cage, tackling in football, guarding an opponent in basketball)

relatively stable such that conditions do not change from moment to moment (bowling)

the conditions are continually changing (tennis, football, etc.)

not only do we need to learn the gross motor skills, but also what stimuli (sounds, colors, etc.) ignore and which to focus upon

focus on refining the skill and being more efficient or accomplished

muscle memory

specific learned motor patterns stored in the brain

proactive interference retroactive interference

what you do before

after

things that are happening around you environment external context internal context

the first and last items will be remembered best primacy effect recency effect

if two memories are a different age, a new repetition/experience will be more beneficial to the older memory

the weaker the memory trace the more beneficial a repetition/experience will be to it (the newer the memory the less beneficial)

if you can do something that you can make unique you will have the tendency to remember it

the ability to focus on relevant information and not focusing on irrelevant information

ages 2 - 6 years

ages 6 - 9 years

9 - 12 years

as we increase the speed with which we do something, we tend to increase the number of errors we make

also known as speed-accuracy

the time it takes for a person to make a decision is a function of the possible choices he or she has available

to extent to which a response accomplished the intended movement goal

information received about the actual performance and execution of the movement

usually gained through senses

information gained from external source such as coaches, teachers, special devices (camera, pictures, etc.)