EPHE 245 Midterm 1 (Oct 5)

what is a skill

ability to bring out some end result with efficiency, proficiency and consistency

explain the difference between learning and performance

• performance = act of executing a skill

• learning: changes in internal processes that are reflected by relatively stable changes in performance

what is retention design

a test following an empty period without practice

what is transfer design

a change of task conditions where the parameters are different in some way

define learning

changes in internal processes that are reflected by relatively stable changes in performance

what are the 7 characteristics of learning

1. results from practice or experience

2. is not directly observable

3. changes are observed from certain changes in performance

4. involves a set of neural alterations/plasticity

5. not all changes in performance are learning

6. produces an acquired capability for skilled performance

7. changes are relatively permanent and not transitory

learning results from

practice or experience

is learning directly observable

no, but can be inferred through relatively stable changes in performance

what occurs internally as a result of learning

neural alterations/plasticity

are all changes in performance a result of learning?

no, can be due to caffeine, ADHD, puffers, steroids, other performance enhancing mechanisms

learning produces an acquired capability for

skilled performance

what are performance outcome measures

measures indicating outcome or result of performing a skill

• time of completion

• reaction time

• # of trials

• time on/off

what are performance production measures

measures about performance characteristics that produce the outcome

• displacement

• velocity

• acceleration

• joint angle

• EMG

• EEG

what are the criteria for a motor skill (4)

1. goal oriented

2. body and/or limb movements required

3. movements are voluntary

4. are learned and developed as a result of practice

differentiate between fine and gross motor skills

• fine: precise, manipulative movements using smaller muscles

• gross: typically multi-limb movements using larger muscle groups

what are discrete motor skills

well-defined beginning and end, usually brief

• Eg: underwater pushoff

what are serial skills

discrete skills strung together to form more complicated actions

• Eg: breaststroke pullout

what are continuous skills

repetitive skill with an arbitrary beginning and end point, often rhythmic in nature

• swimming breaststroke

differentiate between closed and open skills

closed:

• stable, predictable environment

• object does not change during performance

• self paced

open:

• unpredictable changing environment

• object or context is in motion during performance

• performer responds to variation in environment

• externally paced

describe the Fitz & Posner three stage model of learning

• cognitive stage: introduction to new skill, lots of thinking and feedback required

• associative stage: refining new movement pattern, better at detecting errors and knowing when things are working vs not

• autonomous stage: automatic, proficient at the skill, minimal performance variability, recognizes own errors and self-corrects

describe Gentile’s two stage model of learning

1. initial stage: develop understanding of the movement, development of ability to discriminate between regulatory (things relevant to the movement) and non-regulatory condition (things irrelevant to the movement, ie the colour of the coffee cup)

2. Fixation (closed skills) / Diversification (open skills): refinement of the movement pattern, can replicate consistently and accurately / adaptation of movement to conform to ever-changing environmental demands

what was demonstrated when the beginner and expert chess players scored similarly on the impossible chess board situation?

that expertise is domain specific, so even though memorizing pieces is important for chess, if the pattern isn’t something they are used to they may struggle more with it

what is the memory adaptation in the brain of an expert (recall for games)

they code memory with more pieces of information per chunk, and therefore fewer chunks total

• Eg: combining cues/feedback (hand position, open armpit, head position, core engagement, etc.) until they become one chunk (high elbow recovery)

apart from time, what is the other most important factor in mastery of a skill

deliberate practice

describe the three types of practice

• naive practice: warmup, scrimmage, no exact goals attached to the activity

• purposeful practice: practice with specific goals for improvement

• deliberate practice: purposeful practice with the help of a teacher to initiate appropriate training sequences, instructions, and feedback for improvement

what is “resisting automaticity”

• learning how to apply the skill in different ways, breaking down smaller parts of the skill once proficient at gross elements

• prevents “arrested development” (plateau) by allowing the learner to stay in the cognitive and associative stages, rather than the autonomous stage

what is Hebbian learning?

• neurons that fire simultaneously develop increased synaptic strength overtime

• “neurons that fire together wire together”

what is the resting potential of a neuron and its AP threshold

• resting potential: -70mV

• threshold: -55mV

what is the voltage of an AP at the peak of depolarization

+40mV or so

what are factors affecting the AP signal received by the post synaptic membrane

• amount of NT released by the pre-synaptic membrane

• number of receptors on the post-synaptic membrane

• number of dendrites on the post-synaptic membrane (surface area for receptors to exist on)

what are examples of modulatory NTs

• norepinephrine

• dopamine

• serotonin

• histamine

what is the importance of dopamine as a modulatory NT

increases the occurrence of EPSPs

what is the function of an axoextracellular synapse?

if you wanted to affect many neurons the same way at the same time

what is an axosecretory synapse

axon terminal secretes directly into the bloodstream

shape of unipolar, bipolar, multipolar, and pseudounipolar neurons

how does the structure of a unipolar neuron relate to its function

it has no dendrites, so it responds to sensory stimuli rather than adjacent neurons

what is Hebb’s rule

(in learning) the goal of the system is to increase the strength of the neural connections that are effective

describe the flowchart of human information processing

input (stimuli) → decision making (analyze and apply history) → execution → feedback (internal, external)

what explains why reaction time exists

mental operations occur between stimulus reception and response production

what is response time in a motor skill

reaction time + movement time

(from presentation of the stimulus to the completion of the movement)

is reaction time consistent? why?

• no, reaction time is not constant

• the more choices for how to respond, the longer the reaction time (Hick’s Law)

describe Hick’s Law

reaction time in a decision involving choice is logarithmically related to the number of choice alternatives

considering hick’s law, what explains why experts appear to have faster reaction time?

their ability to anticipate outcomes due to history/memory with the skill, and mentally reducing the number of possible outcomes through familiarity with a player/team and their tendencies

what is the ecological approach to attaining movement goals

movement goals are informed by the environment/task/organism, achieved through action and perception

how does the ecological approach describe individuality?

• become better at perceiving information and producing actions relative to your own capabilities

• people can perceive different possibilities from the same situation, given their experience and capabilities

what are the two types of anticipation and their definitions

• event anticipation: predicting what will occur

• temporal anticipation: predicting when something will occur

what does anticipation do for reaction time

anticipation allows for response preparation before a stimulus fully develops, reducing reaction time

what is affordance?

the perceived action possibilities someone sees relative to their own capabilities

compare and contrast the information processing model with the ecological approach

information processing:

• relates the human mind to computer

• emphasizes internal representations and decision-making

ecological approach:

• perception-action system interacts with environment

• emphasizes environmental information and information pickup (those are the same thing lol)

what are factors affecting attentional demands

• complexity (of the task, or the environment)

• the performer’s skill level

• number of cues

apply the idea that task/environment complexity affects attentional demands

• task: when a task is more complicated, it lessens the attentional space for unrelated things

• environment: when an environment is busy/overstimulating, it becomes harder to focus on a conversation, etc.

apply the idea that performer skill level affects attentional demands

when a performer is more proficient at a skill (moved closer to the autonomous stage, less cognitive demand), the skill won’t involve as large of an attentional demand

apply the idea that the number of cues affects attentional demands

too much verbal instructions and feedback can overwhelm attentional space, so it is best to keep cues short and precise

define arousal

general state of being alert and responsive to stimuli

describe optimal arousal

• as a task increases in complexity, lower levels of arousal are optimal for peak performance (inverted-U principle)

• can vary between individuals

what are strategies for decreasing arousal?

• slow and controlled breathing

• contracting and relaxing various muscles

• constructive/positive thoughts

• visualization

• performance>outcome focus