section B

Characteristics of a skill

• aesthetically pleasing

• Consistent

• Efficient

• Fluent

• Accurate

• Controlled

• Economical

Open skill

• performed when sporting environment is unpredictable

Closed skill

• performed in a predictable environment (repeated actions)

Self paced skill

• performer controls sped and when to start

Externally paced skill

Performer has no control over speed or when it starts

Discrete skill

• clear beginning and end

Serial skill

• several discrete skills linked together in a specific order to form a completed task (dance)

Continuous skill

No clear beginning or end, one movement is start of the next (running)

Gross skill

Performed using large muscle groups

Fine skills

Performed using small muscle groups

Low organised skills

Easily broken down (swimming stroke)

highly organised skill

Not broken down easily (forward roll)

Simple skill

Limited decisions

Not a lot to think about

Complex skill

• Many decisions

• Prior information is needed

Positive transfer

• when the learning of one skill helps the learning of another

• Tends to happen when two skills have similar shape or form

Negative transfer

• when the learning of one skill hinders the learning of another

• Happens when there might be some familiarity with the environment in which the two skills are being performed

Bilateral transfer

• when the learning of one skill is passed across the body from limb to limb

Zero transfer

• when the learning of one skill bas no impact on the learning of another

• No similarities and no aspect of confusion

Massed practise

• no rest (repetitive)

• Used when skills are discrete, simple, closed, highly organised and self paced

• Increases fitness

• Good habitual responses

• No time for feedback

• Tiring

Distributed practise

• includes rest intervals

• When skills are continuous, complex, low organised, serial and self paced

• Allows recovery

• Less mental pressure

• Reduces chance of injury

• Time consuming

• Can limit speed of progress

Varied practise

• varying how skill is practised

• When skills are open and externally paced

• Allows adaptations

• Gives motivation

• Time consuming

• Fatigue/ too demanding

Mental practise

• going over the skill in your mind

• When skills are serial and complex

• Used by autonomous performers

• Builds confidence

• Controls anxiety

• Environment must be calm

• Not suitable for beginners

Whole practise

• practising skill in its entirety

• Fast skills, closed, discrete, simple

• Time efficient

• Aids memory

• May overload performers

• Not for beginners

• Can lead to injury

Whole part whole practise

• perform whole task, isolate weakness, work on it, put it back into whole task

• When skills are complex and fast

• Shows weaknesses and corrects them

• Time consuming

• Some skills cannot be broken down

Progressive part practise

• adding parts gradually

• Complex skills, serial skills, externally paced

• Stages of success gives motivation

• Reduce danger

• Reduce fatigue

• Time consuming

• Negative transfer

Visual guidance

• using demonstrations to create mental image

• Good for beginners

• Can be used to show specific weakness

• Demonstration must be completely accurate

Verbal guidance

• explanation of a task

• Quick guidance for experienced players

• Not good for beginners

• Performer may lose concentration

• Risk of information overload

• Language barrier

Manual guidance

• involves physical support

• Eliminates danger

• Helps build confidence

• May begin to depend on support

• Dependent on relationship

Mechanical guidance

• artificial aid

• Eliminates danger

• Can be used for disabled athletes

• Equipment can be expensive

• Motivation could be lost if performer doesn’t feel independent

Definition of learning

• permeant change in behaviour

Performance definition

• temporary occurrence influenced by other factors

Cognitive stage of learning

• performer has to think carefully and copy demonstrations

• Extrinsic feedback

• Movements are slow and uncoordinated

• Motor programmed haven’t developed

Associative stage of learning

• longer duration in this phase

• Lots of practise

• More intrinsic feedback

• Movements are smoother and more coordinated

• Motor programmes forming

Autonomous stage of learning

• reached after effective practise

• Practise must continue to stay in this stage

• Actions are fluent, efficient and automatic

• Concentrate on finer details

• Motor programme fully developed

• Performer is classed as expert

Motor programme

Components of the skill that can be stored in the memory

Positive feedback

• information about what is good

• Offers motivation which maintains effort levels

• Used on cognitive performers

Negative feedback

• information about what is going wrong

• Allows for errors to be corrected and bad habits eliminated

• Used on associative performers

Extrinsic feedback

• comes from an outside source (coach)

• Performers gains view on what they need to improve

• Advice on types of methods of practise

• Used mainly for cognitive performers

Intrinsic feedback

• used by autonomous performers

• Information from within

• Performed may have developed a feel for the task using kinaesthetic

Knowledge of performance

• detailed analysis

• Concerned with technique

• Comparison with yourself not with others

Knowledge of results

• gives initial outcome

• Indication whether skill is successful

• Comparison to opponent

Learning plateau

A period during performance where there is no signs of improvement

Causes of learning plateau

• lack of motivation

• Boredom

• Bad coaching

• Limit of ability

• Fatigue

• Targets set too low

Solutions to learning plateau

• extend task to challenge performer

• Find a new coach

• Gives breaks to offer breaks

• Vary practises

• Explain plateau concept

Insight learning

• using experience and understanding to solve problems relating to the whole skill

• Performer uses existing knowledge to form an idea of how to deal with problematic sporting situations because they might have an idea form their general sporting knowledge which they can put into practise

• Good for use in realistic situations

• May provide self satisfaction and give intrinsic motivation

• Encourages performer to think for themselves and develops cognitive process

Operant conditioning

• the use of reinforcement to ensure correct responses are repeated

• Coach could use manipulative approach to ensure skills are learned

• Reward athletes for correct actions

Features of operant conditioning

• based on trial and error

• Shapes behaviours (strengthens S-R bond)

Positive reinforcement

• pleasant stimulus that increases likelihood of correct response being repeated

Negative reinforcement

• removal of unpleasant stimulus to encourage desired response

Punishment

• introduction of unpleasant stimulus to break SR bond and prevent incorrect response occcuring

Observational learning - 4 parts

• suggest that unacceptable and acceptable behaviour can be learned by watching and copying other people

• Attention - make demonstration loud, bright and attractive

• Retention - break up information so it can be recalled

• Motivation - use praise and rewards to encourage success

• Motor production - make sure performer is capable of task

How is observational learning more likely to be copied

• performed by player of similar ability

• Reinforced

• Consistent

• Relevant

Social development theory

• learning by association with others

• More knowledgable others - experts, coaches

Inter psychological learning

• external

• Learning from others

Intra psychological learning

• internal

Learning from within after inter psychological stage

3 questions of zone of optimal development

• what can I do alone

• What can I do with help

• What can I not do yet

Constructivism

• building up learning in stages, based on current level of performance

Input

• performer uses senses to pick up information from the environment

• Senses - sight, hearing, touch, balance, kinethesis

• Information is picked up using senses from display (senses are collectively known as receptors systems)

Selective attention

• the process that helps the performer filter relevant information from irrelevant information

How do you develop selective attention

• make stimulus more intense, loud or bright

• Improve motivation

• Mental practise

Benefits of selective attention

• improves reaction time

• Improves chances of making correct decision

• Concentrate on more detailed aspects of tasks

• Helps decision making process become faster

• Memory has limited capacity so too much information could affect memory function

Decision making

• involves player making a decision based on all of the information collected by senses

Perceptual stage - DCR (decision making)

• D - detection - performer picked up relevant information using selective attention

• C - comparison - trying to match important information to information stored in the memory

• R - recognition - used relevant information to identify appropriate response

Translatory mechanisms

• helps to convert information by using past experiences to link to relevant information

• Actions stored in the memory are stored in the form of a motor programme

• Use coded information from perceptual process to pick an appropriate motor programme

Output

• effector mechanisms and muscle output

• Effector mechanism is the network of nerves that is responsible for delivering the decision made during the perceptual process to the muscles so that those muscles can perform the action

• Muscles will receive information in the form of coded impulses and once this impulse is received, muscles will contract and response can begin

• Feedback - information used during or after the response to aid movement

Process of processing information

• environment

• Display

• Receptor systems

• Perceptual mechanisms

• Translatory mechanisms

• Effector mechanisms

• Muscular systems

• Feedback data

Working memory model

Badley and Hitch

• central executive

• Phonological loop and episodic buffer

• Visuospatial sketch pad

• Long term memory

Phonological loop

• help produce memory trace

• Memory trace can be sent to long term memory where it triggers a motor programme

Visuospatial sketchpad

• holds information about what we see in two sections

• Visual colour - form and colour

• Inner scribe movement - spatial and movement

Episodic buffer

• coordinates sight, hearing and movement information from working memory into sequences to be sent to long term memory

• Integrated sequences produce patterns of skilled actions that are put in order and sent to long term memory

• Sequences initiate motor programmes

how do the long term memory and the working memory work together?

• working memory picks up relevant information from sporting environment

• selective attention used to filter out irrelevant information

• working memory produces a memory trace and sends it to long term memory so that the trace can be compared to existing information contained in the storage area of the LTM

• LTM then sends info back to the working memory for use in current situation 

characteristics of working memory

• initiates action

• limited capacity (7 items of info)

• limited timescale (30 seconds)

strategies of storing information

• mental practise

• association

• focus

• chunking - breaking skill down into chunks

• rewards

• chaining - info is called as a sequence

• repetition

acronym of strategies of storing information 

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what does the schema theory suggest

• suggests that the core principles of an existing motor programme can be taken and adapted using info from the environment and feedback from the senses

components of a schema 

• recall - responsible for initiating the movement 

• recognition - happens once action is underway, used to control movements 

• initial conditions - info from sporting environment (recall)

• response specifications - assess available options to performer (recall)

• sensory consequences - uses of sense to guide movement and apply movement to situation (recognition)

• response outcome - motor programme is updates by getting knowledge of results of the action, if unsuccessful, adjustments are made to motor programme. 

strategies coaches can use to encourage successful schemas

• vary practise conditions

• offer frequent feedback

• point out and explain when a schema could be used

• parts of skills that can be transferred should be pointed out

• positive reinforcement or praise to encourage motivation

hicks law

• states that as the number of choices increases so does reaction time

• sometimes this is not the case though as some players become familiar with the environment so response becomes quicker

definition of reaction time 

• time taken from onset of stimulus to onset of response 

definition of movement time

• time taken from start of movement to completion of movement

definition of response time

• time taken from onset of stimulus to completion of movement

• reaction time + movement time

simple reaction time

• simple choice = quick 

• involves one stimulus and one specific response 

• fast reaction

• swimmer/sprinter

choice reaction time

• more choices = more time

• involves when AND how to react

• involves choosing from numerous stimuli that may each have a different response

• much slower response due to number of choices

• basketball/netball player

single channel hypothesis

• suggests that stimuli can only be processed one at a time

• a second stimuli must wait until the one first has been processed before it can be processed

• the delay in processing a second stimuli increases response time

definition of anticipation 

• when a sports performer tries to pre-judge a stimulus

• try to work out what is going to happen before it does using signals from the environment 

• correct anticipation can reduce response time 

• incorrect anticipation delays response time

2 types of anticipation

• temporal - pre judging WHEN a stimuli will happen

• spatial - pre judging WHERE AND WHAT the stimulus is going to be

4 ways to improve response time

• mental practise - action can be predicted

• train specific stimuli - training expected stimuli will reduce response time

• improve fitness - improves reaction time, plyometric/ interval training can improve speed and power during movement

• anticipation - predicting stimuli

what is the psychological refractory period 

• a delay when a second stimuli is presented before the first has been processed

• performer may freeze completely for split second it takes to sort out conflicting information