Motor Learning and Performance Midterm (ch. 1-5)

production units

developed with practice, that allow skilled performers to handle certain information processing tasks automatically

surface features

easily changeable components of a movement, such as movement time or amplitude that are modified as a result of changing parameters

stimulus identification stage

first stage of information processing. input is detected and identified

fitts law

for rapid aiming tasks, states that movement time is linearly related to the index of movement difficulty

long term memory (LTM)

holds information and life experiences. Vast in capacity and unlimited in duration.

automated movements

movements preformed with little attention to or conscious awareness of skill execution. a characteristic of advanced learners

timing accuracy

required for aiming movements for which accuracy of the movement in time is important to task performance

spatial accuracy

required of aiming movements for which spatial position of the movements end point is important to task performance

fitts task

requiring performers to tap back and forth between two targets as rapidly and accurately as possible

response selection stage

second stage of information processing it is decided which, if any, response should be made

interoception

sensory information arising from within the body, such as hunger and thirst

kinesthesis

sensory information coming from the motor system that signals contractions and limb movements. The sense or awareness we have of the movements of our joints and the tension in our muscles during motor activity.

visual proprioception

sensory information provided by the visual system about proprioceptive aspects of a person's movement.

proprioception

sensory information that comes primarily from sources in the muscles and joints and from bodily movements

exteroception

sensory information that comes primarily from sources outside a person's body, primarily vision and smell.

muscle spindles

sensory receptors located in the muscles that provide the nervous system with information about changes in muscle length

fundamental timing structure

sequencing and timing of a movement that define the underlying pattern

stages of processing

several distinguishable operations that people preform on information between input and output

individual differences

stable, enduring differences among individuals performances often attributable to differences in their abilities

reflexes

stereotyped, involuntary, automatic, and usually rapid responses to stimuli

mind to muscle skills

techniques for regulating arousal that use cognitive activity to relax or energize the muscles

muscle to mind skills

techniques regulating arousal that use somatic activity to relax or energize the mind

speed accuracy trade off

tendency for individuals to substitute accuracy for speed or vice versa in their movements depending on task requirements

linear speed accuracy trade off

tendency for the spatial variability of movement end points to increase as performers increase the velocity of rapid aiming movements

movement output chunking

the act of organizing and producing several movements as a single unit memory

effective target width

the amount of spread or variability of a persons movement end points about his or her own mean spatial position for repeated attempts of a rapid aiming task

motor learning

the changes, associated with practice or experience, in internal processes that determine a persons capability for producing a motor skill

degrees of freedom

the components of a control system that can vary independently and that are controlled to produce effective action

stimulus response compatibility

the degree to which the relationship between a stimulus and an associated response is natural

psychological refractory period (PRP)

the delay in a person's reaction time to the second of two closely spaced stimuli compared with the person's reaction time to the second stimulus presented by itself

comparator

the error detection mechanism in closed loop control systems. Compares feedback of the desired state to feedback of the actual state

input

the information that people receive for processing

foreperiod

the interval of time between the presentation of a warning signal and the presentation of the stimulus

choice reaction time

the interval of time that elapses between the presentation of one of several possible stimuli and the beginning of one of several possible responses

simple reaction time

the interval of time that elapses between the presentation of one possible stimulus and the beginning of its associated response

movement time (MT)

the interval of time that elapses from the beginning to the end of a movement

reaction time (RT)

the interval of time that elapses from the sudden presentation of a stimulus to the beginning of a persons response

interstimulus interval (ISI)

the length of time separating the onsets of two stimuli in a double stimulation paradigm

output

the motor behavior or action produced as a result of information processing

optical flow

the movement of patterns of light rays from the environment over a person's retina, allowing the person to detect motion, position and timing.

motor performance

the observable production of a voluntary action or a motor skill. The level of a persons performance is susceptible to fluctuations in temporary factors such as motivation, arousal, fatigue, and physical condition.

visual capture

the tendency for visual information to attract a person's attention more easily than other forms of information

visual dominance

the tendency for visual information to dominate information from the other senses during the process of perception.

focal vision

the visual system people use primarily to identify objects. Uses center of the visual field, leads to conscious visual perception and is degraded in dim lighting.

M3 response

the voluntary reaction time response with a latency of 120-180 ms

response programming stage

third stage of information processing the motor system is organized to produce the desired movement

coincidence anticipation

type of task that requires performers to produce movements that coincide in time, space or both with an external object or event.

parameters

variable inputs to a generalized motor program such as speed or amplitude of the movement, which result in different surface features.

motor skill

-the ability to perform complex muscle-and-nerve acts that produce movement. - the primary determinant of success is the quality of the movement that the performer produces

cognitive skill

a skill for which the primary determinant of success is the quality of the performers decisions regarding what to do.

discrete skill

a skill or task that is organized in such a way that the action is usually brief and has a well defined beginning and end.

continuous skill

a skill organized in such a way that the action unfolds without a recognizable beginning and end in an ongoing and often repetitive fashion

closed skill

a skill preformed in an environment that is predictable or stationary and that allows performers to plan their movements in advance.

open skill

a skill preformed in an environment that is unpredictable or in motion and it requires performers to adapt their movements in response to dynamic properties of the environment.

reflex reversal phenomenon

a special case of reflex activity involving different responses to the same tactile stimulus when it is presented in different phases of the movement

deafferentation

a surgical procedure in which an afferent pathway is cut, preventing nerve impulses from the periphery from reaching the spinal cord

model

a tentative description of a system that captures many of its known properties typically facilitate understanding of systems and promote practical applications

closed-loop control

a type of control that involves the use of feedback and the activity of error detection and correction processes to maintain the desired state. Used to control slow, deliberate movements.

serial skill

a type of skill organization that is characterized by several discrete actions connected together in a sequence. - often with the order of actions being crucial to performance success.

double stimulation paradigm

a research design requiring separate reactions to two different stimuli presented together closely in time

motor program

a set of motor commands that is prestructured at the executive level and that defines the essential details of a skilled action.

trait anxiety

a persons general disposition to perceive situations as threatening.

anxiety

a persons uneasiness or distress about future uncertainties

triggered reaction

relatively complex, coordinated reaction to a particular stimulus, with a latenct of 80-120 ms

attention

A limited mental resource, or a capacity to process information

cue-utilization hypothesis

An explanation for performance decrements under conditions of low and high arousal. Perceptual narrowing under high arousal causes relevant cues in the periphery to be missed.

perceptual narrowing

The narrowing of attentional focus that occurs as a person's arousal level increases

limited attentional capacity

The notion that attention is limited to at most a few activities at any one time Parallel processing

zone of optimal functioning

The range of arousal levels associated with a person's maximum performance Individual affect related performance situations

novelty problem

a deficiency of the simple motor program notion which presumes that people are unable to produce novel (new) movements or unpracticed variations of learned movements because they have not developed specific motor programs for producing them

storage problem

a deficiency of the simple motor program notion, which presumes the need for a vast memory capacity to store separate programs for controlling the nearly infinite number of movements people are able to produce

human factors

a field of study concerned with the interaction of human characteristics and the design of machines or instruments used by people

relative timing

a measure of the temporal structure of a movement in which the ratios among the durations of various movement features are used to define the temporal pattern

electromyography (EMG)

a method for recording the electrical activity in a muscle or group of muscles

consistent stimulus response mapping

a performance condition for which a given stimulus pattern always requires the same response

varied stimulus response mapping

a performance condition for which a given stimulus pattern requires different responses in different situations

ambient vision

allows people to detect the orientation of their body in the environment. nonconscious, takes in all of the visual field and is used for action and movement control.

parallel processing

allows people to handle two or more streams of information at the same time.

short term memory (STM)

allows people to retrieve, rehearse, process, and transfer from STSS. Limited in capacity and brief in duration

situation based approach

an approach to understanding motor performance and learning that emphasizes the situation in which performance and learning take place

motor program notion

an explanation for how people control coordinated movements that emphasizes the role of prestructured motor commands organized at the executive level

tau

an optical variable proportional to time until contact, defined as the size of the retinal image divided by the rate of change of the image

effector

carries out the desired action

central pattern generator (CPG)

centrally located control mechanism that produces mainly genetically defines, repetitive actions.

invariant features

characteristics of a movement that remain constant when the surface features change

capabilities

characteristics of individuals that are subject to change as a result of practice and that underlie the performance of various tasks.

tracking

class of tasks in which a moving track must be followed, typically by movements of a manual control

stoop effect

competition between the response to color word and the ink color in which it is presented. Showing that two stimuli can be processed simultaneously.

generalized motor program

defines a pattern of movement rather than a specific movement. this flexibility allows performers to adapt to produce variations of the pattern that meet various environmental demands

inverted- U principle

describes the relationship between arousal level and performance. arousal level increases performance improves but only to a point if arousal continues to increase performance begins to decrease.

hick's law

describes the stable relationship between the number of stimulus response alternatives and choice reaction time.

executive

determines the actions necessary to maintain the desired goal state

implicit learning

improvements that occur in a persons capability for correct responding as a result of repeated performance attempts and without the person's awareness of what caused the improvements

automatic processing

information processing that is fast, parallel, not attention demanding, and often involuntary

controlled processing

information processing that is slow, sequential, attention demanding and voluntary

feedback

information produced from the various sensors as a consequence of moving

open-loop control

involves the use of centrally determined prestructured commands sent to the effector system and executed without feedback. Used to control rapid, discrete movements.

arousal

level of activation of the central nervous system

golgi tendon organs

located at the junction of muscles and tendons that signal information about force in the muscles

cutaneous receptors

located in most skin areas that signal information about pressure, temperature, and touch.

M1 response

monosynaptic stretch reflex, with a latency of 30-50 ms.

short term sensory store (STSS)

most peripheral memory system. Holds incoming information by modality (auditory, visual) until the person identifies it. Unlimited in capacity, extremely brief duration

M2 response

polysynaptic, functional stretch reflex with a latency of 50-80 ms. Sometimes called long loop reflex.

spatial (event) anticipation

predicting what is going to happen before the signal is presented

temporal anticipation

predicting when a signal to respond is going to happen or predicting the time course of a sequence of events

vestibular apparatus

proprioceptive sense organs located in the inner ear that provide information about posture, balance, and movements of the head.