L1 Motor Skills and Learning

These flashcards cover key concepts and details from the lecture on motor skills and learning.

What are the objectives of studying motor skills?

To identify the importance of motor skills, discuss scientific apparatus for studying motor skills, identify components of skills, classify skills, and measure skill performance.

Why is it important to study motor skills?

Improving skills has significant implications for the human condition.

What is the scientific method in the study of motor learning?

It involves formulating hypotheses, usually contrasting null and alternative hypotheses, and conducting human experimental studies.

Who were some key figures in the history of studying motor skills?

Bryan & Harter, Sir Charles Sherrington, Nikolai Bernstein, Erich Von Holst, EL Thorndike, and Hull.

How are skills defined according to the lecture?

Skills are defined as the ability to bring about some end result with maximum certainty and minimum energy or time expenditure.

What are the components of skills?

Perceiving relevant information, decision-making about action, and producing organized movements to achieve a goal.

What distinguishes open skills from closed skills?

Open skills occur in variable and unpredictable environments, while closed skills occur in highly stable and predictable environments.

What are discrete, continuous, and serial skills?

Discrete skills have a clear beginning and end, continuous skills have no definitive start or end, and serial skills are combinations of discrete skills.

What is the formula for calculating constant error (CE)?

CE is computed by calculating the deviation of each repetition from the target and averaging those errors.

What are absolute error and variable error?

Absolute error is the average of the absolute values of the errors, while variable error measures the consistency of performance.

What is the process for measuring error in continuous tasks?

Choose a consistent sample rate, record deviations from the target, calculate squared deviations, sum them, and take the square root.

What are the steps to calculate CE, AE, and VE in a lab setting?

Group members must throw tennis balls at a target, record where they land, and calculate CE/AE/VE for each trial.

What is the primary focus of the course layout?

The course begins with defining processes of skilled movement, then transitions to motor learning and deeper dives into the principles of how skills are acquired.