Chapter 3: Motor Abilities - ML

What is a motor ability?

• An ability that is specifically related to the performance of a motor skill.

Individual differences in motor abilities

• People have different levels of motor abilities even if each person has the same training experiences and amount of practice.

General vs. specific motor abilities

• General motor ability hypothesis:

  • Many different motor abilities can be identified within an individual, but they are highly related and can be characterized in terms of a singular global ability.

  • If a person is highly skilled in one motor skill, they are expected to do well in other motor skills (i.e., there is one general motor ability).

  • Little evidence to support this hypothesis.

• Specific motor ability hypothesis:

  • Individuals have many motor abilities, and each motor ability is independent of the other.

Balance and timing

• Core question: Do certain motor abilities represent one ability, or are there several variations of these abilities, each task-specific and relatively independent?

• Focus areas: Balance and timing.

Balance

• Balance is our ability to stand, sit, and move without falling.

• Two types:

  • Static balance

  • Dynamic balance

• Key finding: Results from various balance tests don’t translate to balancing ability overall.

• Conclusion: Balance is multidimensional and task-specific.

Timing

• Timing is a crucial component of many motor skills.

• Types:

  • External or anticipation timing: precisely timing movement initiation with an external object (e.g., hitting a baseball).

  • Internal timing: timing movements based on knowledge of time (e.g., a dancer moving to a rhythm or tempo without music).

• Research findings:

  • People can perform timing with precision in motor skills, but timing ability is specific to the requirements of the skill rather than a general timing ability.

The all-around athlete

• Rare occurrence.

• Those who are good in overhead physical abilities tend to do well in other overhead athletics.

• Examples: pitcher vs quarterback vs javelin thrower (overhead-related tasks show cross-over advantages).

Taxonomy of motor abilities (Fleishman)

• Fleishman’s taxonomy identifies two broad categories:

  • Perceptual motor abilities

  • Physical proficiency abilities

• Used to categorize motor abilities observed in research.

Fleishman taxonomy: Perceptual motor abilities (Table 3.3)

• Multilimb coordination

  • Definition: Ability to coordinate movements of a number of limbs simultaneously

  • Tests/Examples: Complex coordinator task; playing the piano or organ (both hands and feet involved)

• Control precision

  • Definition: Ability to make rapid and precise movement adjustments of control devices involving a single arm-hand or leg movements; adjustments are made to visual stimuli

  • Tests/Examples: Rotary pursuit task (keeping a stylus in contact with a disk rotating at 60 rpm); skill example: operating a joystick in a computer video game

• Response orientation

  • Definition: Ability to make a rapid selection of controls to be moved or the direction to move them in

  • Tests/Examples: Visual discrimination tasks (choice reaction time task); skill example: Soccer player dribbling/passing/shooting in response to defender’s movements

• Reaction time

  • Definition: Ability to respond rapidly to a signal when it appears

  • Tests/Examples: Visual or auditory simple reaction time task; skill example: Start of a sprint in swimming

• Speed of arm movement

  • Definition: Ability to rapidly make a gross, discrete arm movement where accuracy is minimized

  • Tests/Examples: Two-plate reciprocal tapping task (moving a stylus back and forth between two plates, 10 s); skill example: Throwing a ball for speed (not accuracy)

• Rate control

  • Definition: Ability to time continuous anticipatory movement adjustments in response to speed and/or direction changes of a continuously moving target or object

  • Tests/Examples: Pursuit tracking task (move a cursor to maintain contact with a target that changes speed/direction); skill example: Driving a car on a highway

• Manual dexterity

  • Definition: Ability to perform skilled arm-hand movements to manipulate fairly large objects under speeded conditions

  • Tests/Examples: Minnesota manual dexterity task (pick up and turn over pegs); skill example: Dribbling and maintaining control of a basketball while running

• Finger dexterity

  • Definition: Ability to perform skilled, controlled manipulations of tiny objects involving primarily the fingers

  • Tests/Examples: Purdue Pegboard task (pick up and assemble small peg, washer, and collar units); skill example: Buttoning a shirt

• Note: The ability labels, definitions, and tests are as Fleishman presented them in two reports (Fleishman, 1972; Fleishman & Quaintance, 1984).

Fleishman taxonomy: Physical proficiency abilities

• 9 physical proficiency abilities include:

  • Static and dynamic strength

  • Explosive strength

  • Trunk strength

  • Extent flexibility (flex or stretch trunk and back muscles)

  • Dynamic flexibility (rapid trunk flexing movements)

  • Gross body coordination and equilibrium

  • Stamina

• Important caveats:

  • Not an exhaustive list of abilities.

  • Did not include static or dynamic balance, visual acuity/tracking, or hand-eye/hand-foot coordination in this overall list.

Tennis serve (Figure 3.2) – Task analysis example

• Component parts of the serve:

  • Grip

  • Stance

  • Ball toss

  • Backswing

  • Forward swing

  • Ball contact

  • Follow through

• Abilities underlying performance (examples listed in the figure):

  • Multilimb coordination

  • Control precision

  • Speed of arm movement

  • Rate control

  • Aiming

  • Static strength

  • Others (as indicated by “Etc.”)

Uses for tests for motor abilities

• Aptitude tests: Tests to determine ability to do a certain job

• Evaluation tests: Assess progress, identify deficiency causes, monitor rehab program progress