Chapter 1

What are three reasons for distinguishing between actions, movements, and neuromotor processes?

1. People learn actions especially when they learn or relaearn motor skills 2. Poeple adapt movement characteristics to achieve a common action 3. People evaluate motor skill performance, moements, and neuromotor processes with different types of measures

Discuss how you would implement the three practical uses Gentile described for her taxonomy of motor skills.

1. To evaluate learner's movement capabilities and limitations - ex. start w/simplest then go up from there 2. Tool for selecting progression of functionally appropriate activities 3. Charting progress made by patients

What does the term intertrial variability mean in Gentile's skill classification system? How does this term provide an additional characteristic for distinguishing open and closed motor skills? Give two examples of two motor skills for each of the four categories that are created by this added distinction.

Intertrial variability - whether or not the regulatory conditions are exactly the same between trials Ex. Treadmill with varying speeds

Discuss how terms actions and movements are related to motor skills. Give an example that illustrates this relationship.

Actions - same as motor skill - indicates that there is a functional goal or that quality of performance is measured Movement - the specific patterns of motion among joints + body segments - component parts of motor skills Ex. The grabbing an object may have the functional goal of getting a cup of coffee, and would include movements of elbow extension, etc.

(a) What are the two dimensions used to classify skills in the Gentile taxonomy? (b) Describe the four classification characteristics inlcuded in each of thse two dimensions.

a. 1.Environmental context + 2. Function of action b. 1. - Stationary regulatory conditions and no intertrial variability, stationary regulatory ocnditoins and intertrial variablity, in-motion regulatory conditions and no intertrial variaiblity, and in-motion regulatory conditions with intertrial variability 2. - Body stability with no object manipulation, body stability with object manipulation, body tranpsort with no object manipulation, and body transport with object manipulation

(a) What does the term regulatory conditions refer to in Gentile's skill classification system? (b) Why are regulatory conditions important to consider when categorizing skills?

a. Regulatory condition - features of environment that performer must conform to in order to reach goal b. In real life, the performer may have to perform the same skill in varying environments that have differing characteristics that affect performance of the motor skill

Describe the one dimension that distinguishes the two categories in each of the following skill classification schemes, and give 3 examples of motor skills for each category: (a) gross vs. fine motor skills; (b) discrete vs continuous motor skills; (c)closed vs. open motor skills

a. size of musculature required - ex. fine: lipping a switch, throwing a dart, looking from side to side gross: rowing a boat, throwing a ball, jumping b. specificity of where actions begin and end -discrete - pushing a button, standing up -continuous- walking, getting dressed c. Stability of environmental context -Open - walking a crowded hallway -Closed- picking up a book on a stable table