motor learning review questions Chapter 4,5,6
What does "freezing the degrees of freedom" mean?
"Freezing the degrees of freedom" involves freezing or fixing the possible movements of a joint so that the limb(s) will function as a single unit or segment. In other words, novices will reduce the available degrees of freedom to a more manageable quantity in order to accomplish a task's goal and results in stiff, rigid, inefficiently timed movements.
What are the two consequences of automaticity?
1) Conscious control of the movement may be detrimental to performance and the information needed to coordinate the muscle pattern is slowed resulting in a hesitant and choppy performance. 2) The learner can now reallocate attentional resources to other factors of performance. The learner then becomes better able to focus on and evaluate the environmental context and, hence, able to respond more quickly and appropriately to performance conditions.
What is a schema? How do the recall schema and recognition schema work together?
A schema is an abstract representation of a rule or set of rules governing discrete movement. More specifically, it is the rule or relationship that directs decision making when a learner is faced with a movement problem. The recall schema is responsible for organizing the motor program initiates and controls the desired movement.
What is the relationship between parameters and schema?
A schema is an abstract representation of a rule or set of rules governing discrete movement. Parameters are easily modified from one performance to another to produce variations of a motor response without altering the fundamental movement pattern
What are the two functions of working memory?
A set of interacting information-processing components that actively store and manage information required to carry out complex tasks such as learning, decision making, reasoning, and comprehension
Explain how the role of the instructor shifts as a learner progresses through Fitts and Posner's three stages of learning.
As a learner progresses through these stages of learning the instructor is still needed as the learner reaches proficiency. The instructor is still responsible for practice design and error detection and correction. The instructor must also act as a motivator in order to help learners reach their full potential
What can you look for to determine whether a learner's error detection and correction capabilities have improved? Do you have any suggestions beyond those listed in the chapter?
As their error detection and correction capabilities improve, learners will become less dependent on practitioners. Questions such as "What did I do that time?" will decrease, and the questions will become more specific. Learners will also display behaviors indicating that they know they have made an error
What is a constraint? List three types of constraints and provide an example of each
Constraints are defined as the boundaries that have a bearing on an individual's movement capabilities. There are individual constraints that include a person's biological and functional characteristics. Ex. shape, height, weight and body composition. Gravity, temperature and natural light are examples of physical environmental constraints. Task constraints include rules, goal implements or machines
1. Define the terms coordination and control. Explain their relationship
Coordination is the process of organizing a system's available degrees of freedom into an efficient movement pattern to achieve a specific goal. Control is the manipulation of variables within a movement to meet the demands of a given situation
What functional problems would be associated with damage to the dorsal column pathways? The extrapyramidal pathway?
Damage to the dorsal column pathway could inhibit sensory information from traveling up the spinal cord to the brain. Damage to the extrapyramidal pathway could inhibit the subconscious control of body movements. Balance and posture would be significantly impaired
Discovery learning is emphasized in the constraints-led approach. What is discovery learning, and how can the practitioner design practice to create it?
Discovery learning involves the purposeful manipulation of key task, performer and environmental constraints during practice in an effort to "channel the acquisition of movement skills and decision making behaviors." The practitioner can design practice by redefying their role as a facilitator. Instead of providing information to dictate the correct movement response through verbal instructions, practice structure and feedback, the practitioner identifies and manipulates key constraints to guide the learner's search for optimal movement solutions
Define fixation and diversification, and explain their relationship to closed and open skills.
During the fixation/diversification stage, the main goal of the learner is refinement. During this stage, the learner's objective will be different for closed vs open skills. Successful performance of closed skills requires that the learner be able to replicate the movement pattern consistently and accurately (fixation). Accordingly, a performer must be able to adapt responses continually to conform to these ever-changing demands (diversification). With open skills, the learner's objective is to diversify the movement pattern
Explain how expert performers are able to build a better representation of the movement problem.
Expert performers are able to build a better representation of the movement problem because they have higher levels of declarative knowledge (rules) and procedural knowledge ( what to do in a given situation). They also have higher levels of confidence
What three lines of evidence suggest the existence of motor program control
First, if the motor program organizes the details of the desired movement in advance, it seems logical that, as a task increases in complexity, the amount of time needed to organize the motor program must also increase. A second experimental approach used to test the notion of motor programs involved Deafferentation. Deafferentation is a technique in which the sensory nerves of a limb
Compare and contrast focal and ambient vision. Which one deals with peripheral vision?
Focal vision: involves the fovea and functions to identify objects primarily located in the central region of the visual field. Serves the "what is it" role Operates under conscious control (voluntary) Hampered in low-light conditions Ambient vision: responsible for spatial localization and orientation. It also functions in the organization and execution of movement and provides information about speed and direction, the stability and balance of your movements, movements of other objects in the environment, and time to contact information. Serves the "where am I/where is it" role Operates at a subconscious level Involves the entire retina Not affected by changes in light level Involves both the central and peripheral visual fields
How does Gentile's model differ from that of Fitts and Posner?
Gentile's model approached the identification of learning stages from the learner's perspective. It emphasizes the learner's goal and influence of task and environmental characteristics on that goal.
Compare and contrast Golgi tendon organs, muscle spindles, joint kinesthetic receptors, and the vestibular apparatus
Golgi Tendon Organs: proprioceptors located at the junction of a tendon with a muscle. Protect tendons and associated muscles from damage due to excessive tension. Muscle Spindles: proprioceptors found between the skeletal muscle fibers in the muscle belly When a muscle is stretched, the spindle sends a signal to the CNS indicating how much and how fast the muscle's length is changing. Muscle spindles also cause stretch reflex Joint Kinesthetic Receptors: proprioceptors located in and around synovial joints Respond to pressure, acceleration, deceleration, and excessive strain on a joint. Provide feedback about whether movements are two slow, too fast, or in the wrong direction Vestibular Apparatus: a collective group of receptor organs in the inner ear Responds to changes in posture and balance Monitor the position of the head, provide sensory information regarding static equilibrium and the maintenance of body position when motionless. They also contribute to dynamic equilibrium, which is the maintenance of body position in response to movement, by monitoring changes in linear acceleration.
Explain the degrees of freedom problem
How we coordinate and control the available degrees of freedom to produce a particular movement is known as the degrees of freedom problem
Explain how vision is used during prehension
Initially, vision is used to assess the regulatory conditions of the situation, such as the target or object's location as well as the size, position, and orientation of the object to determine reach trajectory. As the hand is initially projected towards the target, limb speed and displacement is monitored and time to contact information (tau) obtained. In the final stage of aiming movements, visual feedback enables the performer to judge the movement's accuracy and make any adjustments needed to achieve the task (e.g., tapping an icon on your smartphone). When the action goal requires grasping and object manipulation, vision aids in determining the grip characteristics including the size and shape of the hand (aperture) needed for successful performance
List five performance characteristics that can help you infer that learning has occurred
Movement Pattern Increase in Coordination and Control More Fluid Muscle Activity More Efficient Energy Expenditure Increased Consistency
How could you determine whether snow skiing and waterskiing share the same motor program? Explain your answer, using motor learning terminology and providing specific examples
Movements are generalized and are run by complex rules that are revised with each movement experience. The stronger the rule, the skilled the performance
What is the significance of neuroplasticity?
Neuroplasticity is an experience-dependent ability of the brain to change continuously throughout an individual's life relevant to skill acquisition and rehabilitation. There are 10 principles: Use it or lose it, Use it and improve it, Specificity, Repetition matters, Intensity matters, Time matters, Salience matters, Age matters, Transference, Interference
Compare and Contrast open- and closed loop systems
Open-loop control mechanisms function through a two-level hierarchy, An executive level or command center generates action plans that contain all information necessary to complete a response. A second kind of control mechanism allows adjustments to be made after a program has been initiated
Why might it be false to assume that someone is no longer learning if the person does not display any performance improvements?
Practitioners must be careful not to assume that learning has ceased when performance is no longer improving. It might be that the learner is experiencing a performance plateau which is a period of time during the learning process in which no overt changes in performance occur
Compare and contrast retention tests and transfer tests
Retention and transfer tests are both used to infer that a relatively permanent change in performance has occurred. They both measure if learning has taken place. A retention test specifically measures the persistence of improved skill performance. A transfer test measures the degree to which a learner can adapt the practiced skill to a different performance situation
Which photoreceptor is specialized for vision in dim light? Which one is specialized for visual acuity?
Rods are used for specialized vision in dim lighting while cones are used for visual acuity.
What are the three memory systems? Compare each with respect to capacity and duration.
Sensory Memory: the point at which information enters the nervous system. Information lasts in the sensory memory system for a few hundred milliseconds, allowing just enough time for the individual to decide whether the sensory information demands further attention. Working Memory: a set of interacting information-processing components that actively store and manage information required to carry out complex tasks such as learning, decision making, reasoning, and comprehension. Phonological Loop Deals with short-term storage of spoken and written material Visuospatial Sketchpad Responsible for temporary storage and manipulation of spatial and visual information. Central Executive Serves to control the flow of information between the two storage systems, regulates information processing, and governs attentional activities. Long-Term Memory: characterized as having a seemingly limitless capacity and duration. Procedural memory: retains information regarding how to perform different skills and actions and is fundamental to our ability to achieve movement goals. Riding a bike, tying your shoes, and taping an ankle with a closed basketweave are all examples of procedural memories. Declarative Memory: memory for facts and is broken down into episodic and semantic memory Episodic Memory: contains information about personal experiences and events associated with a specific time and context. Ex: graduation day Sematic Memory: general knowledge developed by experiences but nor associated with time. Ex: school colors
What two major flaws were identified in early motor program theories? How does Schmidt's schema theory solve these problems?
The first involves storage, If a motor program existed for each and every possible movement variation, one's memory would require limitless storage space. The second problem lies in the production of novel responses. Schmidt proposed that every movement does not require a separate motor program for this execution; instead the motor program is more general in nature.
What are the five components of a reflex arc? Explain why reflexes are faster than voluntary movements
The simplest pathway by which a reflex occurs is known as the reflex arc. Its basic components include (1) the receptor, (2) the sensory neuron, (3) the integrating center, (4) the motor neuron, and (5) the effector. When a sensory receptor detects a change in the internal or external environment, a sensory neuron is stimulated; this carries an impulse to the integrating center in the spinal cord (or brain stem). The integrating center then triggers an impulse in a motor neuron, which subsequently stimulates a response in a muscle or gland
Explain why phone numbers have traditionally consisted of seven digits. Many regions of the country now use 10-digit dialing. Do you foresee any problems with the new system? If so, what strategies will callers use to overcome them?
Working memory can only hold 7 chunks of information at once. In the past people had to remember different numbers now they can save contacts
