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Motor Development: Fundamentals, Theoretical Perspectives, and Motion & Stability

Chapter 1: Fundamental Concepts

  • Learning objectives (Page 2)

    • Define motor development
    • Distinguish developmental issues from other concerns
    • Describe some of the basic tools used by researchers in motor development
    • Explain why development occurs over a life span
    • Illustrate a model that guides the discussion of motor development

  • Characteristics of Motor Development (Page 3)

    • Change in movement behavior
    • Continuity
    • Age-related progression
    • Sequential order
    • Depends on underlying processes

  • Related Areas of Study (Page 4)

    • Motor learning: relatively permanent gains in motor skill capability associated with practice or experience
    • Motor control: the neural, physical, and behavioral aspects of movement (Schmidt & Lee, 2014)

  • Related Terms (Page 5)

    • Physical growth: quantitative increase in size or body mass;
      \text{growth} = \text{size or mass increase}
    • Physical maturation: qualitative advance in biological makeup; cell, organ, or system advancement in biochemical composition (Teeple, 1978)
    • Aging: process occurring with passage of time, leading to loss of adaptability or full function and eventually to death (Spirduso, Francis, & MacRae, 2005)

  • Defining Motor Development (Page 6)

    • Identify similarities and differences between motor development and the following phenomena:
    • Motor learning
    • Motor control
    • Physical growth and maturation

  • Newell’s Model of Constraints (Figure 1.1) (Page 7)

    • Constraints categories: Structural (Individual), Functional (Individual), Task, Environmental
    • Constraints interact to shape movement

  • Constraints (Page 8)

    • Constraints discourage or limit certain movements
    • Constraints encourage or permit other movements
    • “Shape” movement — channel away from some movements while towards others

  • Individual Constraints (Page 9)

    • Unique physical, mental characteristics – Internal
    • Structural: related to body’s structure (e.g., height, muscle mass)
    • Functional: related to behavioral function (e.g., attention, motivation)

  • Environmental Constraints (Page 10)

    • Properties of the environment – External
    • Global, not task-specific
    • Physical: gravity, surfaces
    • Sociocultural: gender roles, cultural norms

  • Task Constraints (Page 11)

    • Specific task requirements or goals – External
    • Not related to the individual; related specifically to tasks or skills
    • Include goal of task, rules guiding task performance, equipment

  • Interaction of Constraints (Page 12)

    • Must identify individual and environmental and task constraints
    • Must examine interactions among constraints

  • Video Example 1.1 (Page 13)

    • Prompt: What are the important individual, environmental, and task constraints in this video?

  • Constraints and Atypical Development (Page 14)

    • Disabilities: differences in structural, functional individual constraints
    • Must consider all interacting constraints
    • May result in delayed, different motor development

  • Video Example 1.2 (Page 15)

    • Prompt: What constraints change between these two clips?
    • (Click images to view videos)

  • Research Designs in Motor Development (Page 16)

    • Longitudinal: an individual or group is observed over time; may require lengthy observation
    • Cross-sectional: individuals or groups of different ages are observed; change inferred, not directly observed
    • Sequential or mixed longitudinal: mini-longitudinal studies with overlapping ages

  • Model of Sequential Research Design (Figure 1.4) (Page 17)

    • Demonstrates how cohorts are observed over time with overlapping ages
    • Combines cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches to study development

  • Research Designs: Rationale (Page 18)

    • Why use a longitudinal design to study motor development?
    • Why use a cross-sectional design to study motor development?

  • A Paradox in Development (Page 19)

    • Universality: great similarity in development across individuals within a species
    • Variability: individual differences exist

  • Summary and Synthesis (Page 20)

    • 1) Motor development examines continuous, sequential, age-related change in motor behavior
    • 2) Underlying change is shaped by individual, environmental, and task constraints
    • 3) Researchers use longitudinal, cross-sectional, and sequential designs to investigate this change

Chapter 2: Theoretical Perspectives in Motor Development

  • Learning objectives (Page 22)

    • Describe theories used to study motor development
    • Illustrate how various theories explain changes in motor behavior
    • Describe the history of the field of motor development

  • Figure 2.1: Motor Development: What Happens? (Page 23)

    • Conceptual view of how motor development unfolds across life span

  • Theories of Motor Development (Page 24)

    • Maturational perspective
    • Information processing perspective
    • Ecological perspective

  • Maturational Perspective (Page 25)

    • Motor development driven by maturation of systems (Nature)
    • Specifically, Central Nervous System (CNS) maturation
    • Minimal influence of environment
    • Characteristics: qualitative, discontinuous

  • History of the Maturational Perspective (Page 26)

    • 1930s: Gesell, McGraw proposed invariable, genetically determined sequence of development (timing may vary)
    • Co-twin control strategy used in research

  • Maturationists’ Interest in Process (Page 27)

    • McGraw (1935): motor behavior changes linked to nervous system development
    • Advancement in CNS triggers appearance of a new skill

  • Long-Lasting Beliefs from Maturation Theory (Page 28)

    • Basic motor skills emerge automatically
    • Little need for special training
    • Mild deprivation does not arrest development
    • Nervous system deemed most important

  • Descriptive Methodology in Motor Development (Page 29)

    • Characteristic of maturational perspective (1940–1970s)
    • Normative: quantitative scores describing average performance (e.g., Espanchade, Glassow, Rarick)
    • Biomechanical: movement-pattern descriptions in fundamental skills (e.g., Glassow, Halverson, Wickstrom)

  • How Would a Maturational Theorist Explain the Following? (Page 30)

    • Toddler learning to walk
    • Child riding a bike
    • Teenager having difficulty swimming

  • Information Processing Perspective (Page 31)

    • Motor development driven by external processes (Nurture)
    • Brain viewed as a computer: passive human responds to environmental stimuli
    • Key concepts: Input, encoding, processing, feedback
    • Young adults often studied first as a basis for comparing performance across ages

  • Perceptual-Motor Development (Page 32)

    • Subfield within information processing
    • 1960s: early work linked learning disabilities to delayed perceptual-motor development

  • How Would an Information Processing Theorist Explain the Following? (Page 33)

    • Toddler learning to walk
    • Child riding a bike
    • Teenager having difficulty swimming

  • Ecological Perspective (Page 34)

    • Development driven by the interrelationship of the individual, environment, and task
    • Importance of multiple systems
    • Neural system is one of many systems contributing to action
    • Two branches: Dynamical systems; Perception–action

  • Dynamical Systems (Page 35)

    • Theory advanced in early 1980s by Kugler, Kelso, Turvey, and others
    • Body systems spontaneously self-organize; not driven solely by CNS
    • Interactions among body systems, performer, environment, and task demands

  • Dynamical Systems (continued) (Page 36)

    • Some systems may develop more slowly in the young or degrade faster in the old, influencing rate of development or change
    • Development characterized by qualitative and discontinuous change
    • Change occurs across the life span

  • System Diagram (Figure 2.3) (Page 37)

    • Illustrates multiple interacting systems over time

  • Perception–Action (Page 38)

    • Based on Gibson’s work (1960s–1970s)
    • Affordance: function an environmental object provides to an individual
    • Object meanings defined by intrinsic dimensions (body-scaled) rather than extrinsic, objective dimensions

  • Ecological Perspective (Page 39)

    • Both branches reject CNS as sole executive controller
    • Control is distributed throughout the body, at global and local levels
    • Enables new experiments and new ways of thinking about old questions

  • How Would an Ecological Perspective Theorist Explain the Following? (Page 40)

    • Toddler learning to walk
    • Child riding a bike
    • Teenager having difficulty swimming

  • Summary and Synthesis (Page 41)

    • 1) Multiple theoretical perspectives have emerged over time
    • 2) Each perspective has benefits; there is value in viewing motor development from different angles
    • 3) The maturational perspective has historically influenced understanding, but the ecological perspective is more widely used today

Chapter 3: Principles of Motion and Stability

  • Lesson objectives (Page 43)

    • Outline the principles of motion and stability that lead to proficient motor performance
    • Discuss relationships between these principles and motor behaviors across skill levels
    • Explain how skilled performers take advantage of principles

  • Developmental Changes Are Predictable (Page 44)

    • Based on optimizing biomechanical principles of motion and stability over time
    • Observed across a variety of motor skills
    • Often produce more force, velocity, or accuracy

  • Motion and Stability (Page 45)

    • Developmental changes in movement follow biomechanical principles
    • Motion and stability are two principles within biomechanics; the "physics" of movement

  • Video 3.1: What Changes From A to B? (Page 46)

    • Visual prompt to compare two states of movement

  • Newton’s First Law (Page 47)

    • An object at rest stays at rest; an object in motion stays in motion until acted upon by a force
    • Inertia: resistance to motion related to mass
    • Momentum: product of mass and velocity
    • Equations:
      {p = m\,v}
      ${}$

  • Newton’s First Law, Simplified (Page 48)

    • We must exert force to move objects and to move ourselves
    • Higher inertia means it is harder to move; more force is required

  • Newton’s First Law: Child Learns to Swing a Bat (Page 49)

    • What must the child learn about inertia?
    • What must the child learn about momentum? (p = m v)

  • To Move an Object Farther or Faster (Page 50)

    • Increase force delivered to object
    • Increase distance over which force is applied

  • Video 3.2: Adding Distance to Improve a Kick (Page 51)

    • Increase step length (linear distance)
    • Increase range of motion (rotational distance)

  • Newton’s Second Law (Page 52)

    • Object’s force relates to mass and acceleration: F = m a
    • Object’s acceleration relates to force and inversely to mass: a = \frac{F}{m}
    • (continued)

  • Newton’s Second Law (continued) (Page 53)

    • People can throw only as hard as they can throw
    • Given this peak force, how could you increase acceleration when throwing a ball?

  • Newton’s Third Law (Page 54)

    • To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction
    • When you push on something, it pushes back on you

  • Using Newton's Third Law (Page 55)

    • Oppositional movements and directional force

  • Video 3.3: Force Generation Aided by Oppositional Movements (Page 56)

    • Visual demonstration of opposing movements aiding force

  • Video 3.4: Exert Force in Primary Movement Plane (Page 57)

    • Use force in the plane of motion in which you want to move yourself or an object
    • Avoid rotational movements that reduce force in the desired plane

  • Increasing Velocity: Rotating Limbs and Projected Objects (Page 58)

    • Increase rotational velocity (swing it faster)
    • Increase relative length (fully extend at release or contact)

  • Video 3.5: Why Not Keep Limb Extended Throughout? (Page 59)

    • The leg would have too much rotational inertia

  • Force and Time (Page 60)

    • To move an object, increase force application for a given time
    • Example: karate chop to bricks
    • To stop an object, increase time over which a given force is applied
    • Example: soft landing in gymnastics

  • Question (Page 61)

    • What developmental skills involve learning to absorb force?

  • Stability and Balance (Page 62)

    • Stability: ability to resist movement
    • Balance: ability to maintain equilibrium
    • Stability–mobility trade-off

  • Increasing Stability (Page 63)

    • Increase the base of support
    • Lower the center of gravity

  • Increasing Balance (Page 64)

    • Increase stability
    • Improve strength, coordination, and proprioception

  • Summary and Synthesis (Page 65)

    • 1) Motion and stability are two biomechanical principles that constrain how individuals interact with the environment during task performance
    • 2) Understanding and practicing motion and stability can lead to better control and performance of motor skills
    • 3) Stability and balance are key mechanical principles in efficient and skilled movement