Kin 312 Motor Abilities

Ability

a general trait or capacity of the individual that is a relatively enduring characteristic which serves as a determinant of a person's achievement potential for the performance of specific skills
ex) GRE, MCat, SAT, ACT
ex) intellect, artistry

Motor Ability

an ability that is specifically related to the performance of a motor skill
ex) accuracy (golf), athleticism

Individual-Difference Variables

performance of a motor skill has a lot to do with the performer's motor abilities that are beneficial for the specific skill
ex) short athletes are generally gymnasts due to their shorter axis; taller athletes are usually tennis players due to their longer limbs (intertrial variability)

General Motor Ability Hypothesis

-Many different motor abilities that exist in an individual are highly related and can be characterized in terms of a singular, global motor ability
-"athletic" (poor descriptive term)
-Little support for this hypothesis!

Specificity of Motor Abilities

-Many motor abilities an individual possesses are relatively independent
-Supported by Franklin Henry (1961) -forefather for the field of kinesiology
o used reaction time and arm movement time are uncorrelated
o tells us that motor abilities are independent
o green light: move arm as fast as you can when light turns green--no correlation between fast reaction time and fast arm movements

Balance and Timing Abilities

-does one have to learn how to balance before they can walk?
the evidence says NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
example: peripheral neuropathy patient: feel tingling in extremities--leans on support when standing but CAN walk

Timing

-internal or external
o external: timing required to hit a baseball
o internal: timing required to execute a dance routine

-Timing Ability: specific to the requirements of the skill being performed rather than a general timing ability

"The All Around Athlete"

-according to the specificity hypothesis, people have abilities that range from low, average, and high
-people can have many abilities at an average level while others may have few abilities at a high level
-often, the "all around athlete" has 1 or 2 high level motor abilities that overlap among different activities

Bo Jackson: football/baseball
Natalie Williams: triathlete

Fleishman's Taxonomy of Motor Abilities

-multilimb (drawing circles/lines)
-abilities underlie performances (1 single performance)
-many motor abilities/skill