Exam 4

whole practice

a practice strategy that involves practicing a skill in its entirety

part practice

practice strategy that involves practicing parts of skill before practicing the whole skill

the decision to practice a skill as a whole or in parts can be based on what 2 things

complexity and organization characteristics of the skill

complexity

number of parts or components of skill and attention demands of the task

high level vs low level organization

high: parts are spatially and temporally interdependent

low: parts are relatively independent

if skill is ____ in complexity and ____ in organization, practice of the WHOLE SKILL is best

low complexity

high in organization

ex; bicep curl

if a skill is ___ in complexity and low in organization, practice the PART METHOD

high complexity, low organization

dance routine, tennis serve

3 part task strategy

fractionalization

segmentation

simplification

fractionalization

skills requiring asymmetric coordination of arms or legs

practice individual limbs

• begin practicing with limp requiring more difficult or more complex part

• swimming - practice kicking vs practice arm strokes

segmentation

also known as progressive part strategy

begin practice with first part of skill then progressively add each part until skill is practice as a whole

simplification

reduce skill difficulty by practicing simpler variation of skill before practicing skill itself

• reduce object difficulty, reduce attention demands, reduce speed, add auditory cues etc

mental practice

cognitive rehearsal of a physical skill

what are the 2 distinct roles for mental practice

1. practice strategy aid for acquisition of motor skill (novice)

2. a means of preparing to perform a well learned skill (advanced)

to determine the influence of mental practice, researchers have compared 3 practice conditions, what are they?

physical practice only

mental practice only

no practice

results: physical practice > mental practice > no practice

what kind of setting has research shown benefits of mental practice

rehab

power training

general preparation strategy

Singer 5 step general learning strategy

1. get ready physically, mentally, emotionally

2. mental imaging performing action, visually, and kinesthetically

3. concentrate intently on 1 relative cue

4. execute action

5. evaluate performance

5 types of imagery that athletes use to improve performance

motivational specific

motivational general mastery

motivational general arousal

cognitive specific

cognitive general

what is the most common mental practice strategy for skilled athletes

imagery

• before competition

• immediately prior / during event

• rehabilitating an injury

3 hypothesis as to why mental practice is effective

Neuromuscular hypothesis: EMG recordings in muscles showing involvement

Brain activity hypothesis: Brain activity during imagery similar to activity during physical

performance of a skill

Cognitive hypothesis: Helps learner answer “what to do” questions that are common during the initial stage of motor skill learning

variety of movement and context characteristics the learner experiences while practicing a skill

practice variability

skill variations will be required in what conditions

test conditions

• physical context in which skill is performed

• situation in which skill occurs

which is better for learning and performance in future test situation - practice variability OR constant practice

practice variability

• benefit of this can be related to increased amount of performance error during practice

What were Shea and Kohl’s findings for the constant vs variable group when learning to use 175 N force to press a handle

constant: used 175 N for 289 trials

variable: practiced 4 different forces, 125, 150, 200, 225 (175 not practiced)

retentions/transfer test for the variable group was more accurate

contextual interference effect

memory and performance disruption results from performing variation of skill within context of practice

• contextual interference effect occurs when higher amounts of contextual interference are involved in practice than lower amounts

• results in better learning even though practice is harder

what is a limitation of the contextual interference effect

may not apply tho motor skill learning situation such as motor skill characteristics and learner characteristics

challenge point hypothesis

proposed the implementation of specific practice conditions that will optimally challenge the person in a way that will enhance learning

• low contextual interference = optimal for difficult skills and novice / young children

• high levels of contextual interference = optimal to low level of difficulty / more skilled individuals

specificity of practice hypothesis

view that motor skill learning is influenced by practice condition characteristics

Throndike’s identical elements theory

transfer of learning between 2 tasks increases with similarity between components of the task

Henry;s specificity of motor abilities hypothesis

abilities are higher related OR relatively independent

list the 3 practice-test characteristics related to practice specificity hypothesis

1. sensory/perceptual characteristics

2. performance context characteristics

3. cognitive processing characteristics

overlearning

continuation of practice beyond the amount needed to achieve performance

• can have positive influence on retention and transfer

procedural skills

skills include a combination of cognitive and motor components require performance of a series of similar movements

• ex: assembling a rifle. army research found 100% over learning strategy effective for long term retention

dynamic balance skills

research found point of diminishing returns for extra practice

• 50% as effective as 1005 AND 200% PRACTICE

• as soon as you master something it doesn’t matter how much longer you do it, its not like you’re going to get exponentially better

T or F: student determined extra practice resulted in better learning than teacher-determined extra practice

T

how can overlearning lead to poor learning

extended practice of simple skills leads to learners engaging in lower cognitive effort and decrease capability to remember / transfer movement variation

• ex: studying the same thing over and over so you kinda decide to skip over it / skim it when reviewing, making you actually forget in the long run

practice distribution problem

you have a specific amount of time to practice for a future “test”

what are the 2 types of practice distributions

massed practice

• longer but fewer sessions

• non to very short between trial rest intervals

distribution practice

• shorter but more sessions - better learning results

• longer between trial rest intervals

list the 3 hypothesis for why distributed practice session are better for learning

fatigue hypothesis

cognitive effort hypothesis

• mass practice leads to reduced cognitive effort

memory consolidation hypothesis

• better opportunity for consolidation rather than massing into single session

T or F: distribution practice is more effective for discrete motor skills

F

massed schedules better for the short/simple tasks

continuous motor skills benefit from distribution practice when material is more complex

blocked practice builds ___ and random practice builds ____

blocked = confidence

• learners overestimate their learning

random = competence

why does contextual interference effect occur

Action plant reconstruction hypothesis: it required a person to reconstruct an action plan on subsequent practice trials for each skill variation

elaboration hypothesis: engages in more strategies, more durable memories as a result of increased meaningfulness

involves greater attention demand