Motor Learning and Sport Psychology

Basics of Skill Learning

Motor Learning

The development of the ability to perform a task through physical and psychological factors, observed in small children, involving the progression of sport skill or complex motor activity.

Cognitive Stage

The first stage of motor learning where a basic understanding of how to complete a task is gained.

Associative Stage

The second stage of motor learning where skills are refined, an awareness of mistakes develops, resulting in fewer and smaller errors.

Autonomous Stage

The final stage of motor learning where a skill becomes almost automatic and can be performed while focusing on other aspects of the sport.

Fundamental Movement Skills

Essential skills that lay the foundation for physical literacy and participation in a variety of physical activities, categorized into stability, locomotion, and manipulation.

Skill Transferability

The ability to apply or transfer skills learned in one activity to improve performance in another, especially across similar movement contexts.

Preparation Phase

The body positioning while getting ready to perform a movement skill.

Execution Phase

The phase of movement involving momentum, technique, and the correct force applied during the main movement.

Follow-through Phase

Control of the body after the critical instant of movement, which is key to accuracy and force production.

Knowledge of Performance (KP) Feedback

Feedback that involves observing and commenting on actual movements during a task.

Knowledge of Results (KR) Feedback

Feedback based on the outcome of a task after it is completed.