Apa 3121 lec 2 biological foundations of development

Motor Development

A continuous, cumulative process of change in functional capacity involving sequential changes related to age.

Why Educators Study Motor Development

To find practices that work best and are appropriate for learners.

Why Engineers Study Motor Development

To develop appropriately sized spaces and equipment.

Why Health Care Providers Study Motor Development

To identify factors that affect movement abilities.

Why Kinesiologists Study Motor Development

To understand the influence of exercise early in life on later health status.

Physical Growth

An increase in size or body mass resulting from an increase in complete, already-formed body parts.

Physical Maturation

A qualitative advance in biological makeup and biochemical composition rather than size alone.

Aging

The process leading to loss of adaptability or full function and eventually to death.

Maturation Viewpoint

The belief that genetics and heredity are primarily responsible for motor development, with little environmental effect.

Information Processing Viewpoint

Describes motor behavior in terms of computer-like operations occurring from environmental input.

Ecological Viewpoint

Stresses the interrelationships between the individual, environment, and task.

Maturation Viewpoint & Environment

The environment may speed or slow development, but cannot change the biologically determined course.

Maturation Twin Studies

Showed that children develop in an orderly, predictable, and predetermined fashion.

Normative Descriptive Period

Focused on standardized tests, norms, average performance scores, and outcomes rather than process.

Biomechanical Descriptive Period

Described longitudinal skilled movement patterns and age-related sequential improvements in efficiency.

Information Processing Executive Function

Decides all actions based on calculations of perceptual information.

Ecological Viewpoint Approaches

Consists of dynamical systems (motor control/coordination) and perception-action (perception).

Dynamical Systems Approach

Coordinated behavior is softly assembled rather than hardwired, constrained by the body's physical and chemical systems.

Rate Limiter

An individual constraint or system that holds back or slows the emergence of a motor skill due to slower development.

Perception-Action Approach

Emphasizes the close interrelationship and co-evolution of the perceptual and motor systems.

Affordance

Perceiving the function an object will allow based on one's own body and the object's physical characteristics.

Body Scaling

Assessing environmental properties in relation to oneself rather than according to an objective standard.

Individual Constraints

An individual's unique physical and mental characteristics, divided into structural and functional constraints.

Structural Constraints

Individual constraints related to the body's structure that change slowly with growth and aging.

Functional Constraints

Individual constraints relating to behavioral function.

Environmental Constraints

Constraints related to the world around us that are global rather than task-specific, and can be physical or sociocultural.

Task Constraints

Constraints that include the goals and rule structure of a particular movement or activity.

Definition of a Constraint

A characteristic that discourages some movements while encouraging others.

Developmental Trajectory

The course of a behaviour over age or time.

Arrested Development

A failure to develop beyond a particular point of development.

Longitudinal Study

A study where the same individual or group is observed performing the same tasks on numerous occasions over a long time.

Cross-Sectional Study

A study where developmental change is inferred by observing individuals or groups of varying ages at one point in time.

Cohort

A group of individuals whose members share a common characteristic, such as age or experience.

Meta-Analyses

An analytical method that pools many smaller studies and uses statistical techniques to integrate effects into a generalizable estimate.

Universality vs. Variability

Universality refers to similar developmental changes shared by all, while variability refers to individuals being above/below average.