Midterm 2: Transfer, Practice, and Feedback in Motor Skills

What is transfer of learning?

Influence of previous experiences on performing skill in next context or learning new skill.

What are the two hypotheses explaining why transfer occurs?

(1) Similarity of skill and context components; (2) Similarity of processing requirements.

What does the similarity of skill and context components refer to?

Amount of transfer related to amount of similarity between two tasks or contexts, including kinematic and coordination patterns.

What is the transfer-appropriate processing theory?

It relates to the similarity of cognitive processes required by two skills or situations.

What is negative transfer?

Negative transfer interferes or hinders learning when environmental context characteristics are similar but movement characteristics are different.

What is symmetric bilateral transfer?

Amount of transfer is similar from one limb to another.

What is asymmetric bilateral transfer?

Greater transfer from one limb than from the other limb, typically more transfer from preferred to non-preferred.

What is the cognitive hypothesis regarding bilateral transfer?

Learners have learned important cognitive information related to how to do the skill.

What is the motor control hypothesis regarding bilateral transfer?

Practice develops Generalized Motor Program (GMP) and coordination dynamics are learned independent from limb.

What is practice variability?

Exposure a learner has to a variety of movement and context characteristics in practice.

How does practice variability relate to motor skill learning?

Variability increases capability to perform skill in future test situations and enhances positive transfer from practice to test contexts.

What is a key requirement for future performance in skill learning?

Learners need to learn the rules and have variability in practice.

How can practice variability be implemented in skill learning?

Expose learners to a variety of movement and context characteristics in practice, using different conditions, environments, and skill variations.

What is contextual interference?

Contextual interference occurs when the memory and performance disruption results from performing various tasks/skills within the context of practice.

What effect does high contextual interference have on learning?

A high amount of contextual interference leads to better learning of task variations, including retention and transfer.

How does contextual interference relate to novice learners?

Beginners need more block practice and may start with a blocked schedule until they achieve basic movement patterns.

What is the recommended starting level of contextual interference for practice?

Start with a moderate to high amount of contextual interference.

Why does contextual interference benefit motor skill learning?

It allows for more memory storage and retrieval, requires forgetting and reconstructing action plans, increases attention demands, leads to more errors and refinement.

What factors can affect the applicability of contextual interference?

Contextual interference does not apply to all situations and depends on skill difficulty, age, and skill level.

What is the practice specificity hypothesis?

More similarity between practice and test conditions leads to more transfer of skills.

What are the three characteristics requiring specificity in practice?

Sensory/perceptual characteristics, performance context characteristics, cognitive processing characteristics.

How does practice variability relate to practice specificity?

Variability enhances positive transfer from practice to test contexts, while specificity emphasizes similarity for transfer.

What are especial skills?

Especial skills refer to skill variations that are performed markedly better than similar variations and cannot be fully explained by practice variability or practice specificity hypotheses.

What is overlearning in motor skill practice?

Overlearning is continuing to practice beyond what is needed to reach the performance criterion.

How does overlearning influence procedural skills?

Overlearning strengthens motor programs and response schemas, increases stability of coordination, and helps retention performance.

What is the impact of overlearning on dynamic balance skills?

Overlearning improves retention but shows diminishing returns.

What relationship exists between overlearning and other practice condition variables?

Other practice-related variables combined with the amount of practice influence skill learning; too much practice can hurt performance.

What is massed practice?

Massed practice involves longer practice sessions with shorter rest periods between sessions.

What is distributed practice?

Distributed practice involves practice distributed across many shorter sessions with longer rest in between.

How does massed practice affect inter-trial intervals?

Massed practice has less time between trials.

What evidence supports the benefits of distributed practice?

Spacing practice sessions across days benefits the learning of motor skills.

What are the reasons for the benefits of distributed practice?

Fatigue hypothesis, cognitive effort hypothesis, and memory consolidation hypothesis.

How do continuous and discrete motor skills differ in practice schedules?

Continuous motor skills benefit from distributed schedules, while discrete motor skills benefit from massed schedules.

How should practice be adjusted based on skill type?

Use shorter and more practice sessions for continuous skills (distributed practice) and longer sessions for discrete skills (massed practice).

What is complexity in relation to motor skills?

Complexity refers to the number of components in a skill and the attentional demands.

What is organization in relation to motor skills?

Organization refers to the relationship between components in a skill, whether they are spatially and temporally dependent or independent.

What is fractionation in part-practice methods?

Fractionation involves practicing with individual limbs.

What is segmentation in part-practice methods?

Segmentation involves practicing parts of a skill and then combining them.

What does simplification mean in motor skill practice?

Simplification means reducing the difficulty of the whole skill or parts of the skill.

How can simplification be applied in practice?

By reducing object difficulty or reducing attention demands.

What is the purpose of reducing attention demands in skill learning?

To simplify tasks by reducing balance components with assistive devices.

How can speed influence motor skill performance?

Reducing speed can help maintain invariant timing, such as playing music at a slower tempo.

What role do auditory cues play in rhythmic skills?

Auditory cues, like a metronome, can enhance rhythmic skills.

What does an observer perceive from a skilled demonstration of a motor skill?

The observer perceives and uses the invariant relative motions of coordinated movement patterns.

How does observing other beginners influence skill practice?

It discourages imitation and encourages active problem solving.

What is the effect of verbal instructions on motor skill performance?

Verbal instructions direct attention to specific performance goals.

What are verbal cues in skill learning?

Short, precise phrases that direct attention and prompt action.

What is task-intrinsic feedback?

Sensory-perceptual information that is a natural part of performing a skill.

What is augmented feedback?

Feedback that enhances task intrinsic feedback.

What does KR stand for in feedback?

Knowledge of Results, which provides information about the outcome.

What does KP stand for in feedback?

Knowledge of Performance, which provides information about movement characteristics.

What is quantitative augmented feedback?

Feedback that involves numerical values.

What is qualitative augmented feedback?

Feedback that assesses the quality of performance characteristics without numbers.

When is video replay effective for skill learning?

When improving or correcting complex skills, helping learners see movement characteristics.

What are movement kinematics and kinetics used for?

To provide information not readily detectable by the performer or observer.

What is biofeedback in skill learning?

An augmented form of task intrinsic feedback related to physiological processes, usually EMG.

When is concurrent augmented feedback beneficial?

When intrinsic feedback alone is difficult to use and enhances relevant features of task-intrinsic feedback.

What is the KR-delay interval?

The time between a trial and feedback.

What is the post-KR interval?

The time between feedback and the next trial.

What are performance-based bandwidths in feedback?

Feedback is given only when performance is outside error tolerance limits.

What is self-selected frequency in feedback?

Learners choose when to receive feedback, usually after trials to confirm success.

What is summary augmented feedback?

Feedback provided after a set of trials.

What role does augmented feedback play in learning?

It helps learners achieve action goals more quickly or easily and motivates them to strive toward goals.