Motor Learning Test 2 Notes

Three skill domains:

1. Cognitive – knowing what to do/how to do
2. Perceptual – discriminate between sensory stimuli
3. Motor – quality of movement

5 classifications of a motor skill:

1. Level of Environmental Predictability

 Open skills
 Closed skills

2. Movement Initiation
 Self paced
 Forced paced

3. Task Organization
 Discrete (ex: throw a ball); discrete beginning and end
 Continuous (ex: 200m front crawl)
 Serial (discrete skills combined, ex: gymnastics)

4. Importance of Physical and Cognitive Components

 Motor
 Cognitive

5. Primary Muscles Required

 Gross motor
 Fine motor

Defining Skilled Performance

1. Maximum accuracy
2. Minimum time
3. Minimum outlay of energy

Connotations attached to Skilled Performance

1. Distinction between ability and skill
2. Skill goes beyond learning to include efficiency and economy
3. Skilled performer can reach same end results depending on circumstances

Three Stages of Learning: Fitts and Posner

1. Cognitive Stage
2. Associative Stage
3. Autonomous Stage (unconscious, you spend the most time here)
Four Characteristics of Performance that Indicate Learning
1. Improvement (increase score/decrease time)
2. Consistency (consistently improve)
3. Persistence (abilities persist after period of no practice)
4. Adaptability (adapt to different environments/similar tasks)

Measuring Learning
1. Performance Curves [1. Score (); 2. Time ()]
2. Retention Tests
3. Transfer Tests

Power Law of Practice

 Individual curves are highly variable, must smooth out curve by averaging
 Power law = time of task is determined by amount of practice
 Log(T) = Log(a) – b Log(N)
 Takes an increasing amount of practice to see the same improvement you
saw previously (autonomous stage)

Two Motor Learning Problems:

1) Performance Plateau
 No apparent improvement occurs in performance despite continued
practice
 Morse Code Study
 Possible Causes of Learning plateau:
o Performance strategies change
o Learning prerequisite skills
o Psychological factors (boredom, arousal level, fear of failure)
o Physical Factors (strength, flexibility, endurance)

2) Degrees of Freedom Problem

 Obstacle of avoidance; many df’s in the motor system
 Solutions to the degrees of freedom problem:
1) Efficiency
 Movement Efficiency – mid range joint angles
 Smooth Movements – minimize jerk
2) Synergies – dependencies between components of motor system
3) Mechanics - elastic properties of muscles
Performance Vs. Learning
 Performance is an observable behaviour (ex: a test)
 Learning is the change in performance as a result of practice (ex: the amount
you’ve learned in between test 1 and test 2)

Measuring Performance
1) Performance outcome measures
 Measuring the goal of performance (ex: test score)
2) Performance production measures
 Measuring behaviour required to achieve goal (ex: studying habits)
 Production is generally difficult to measure
 Production CONTROLS outcome

Assessing Production
1) Human Judgement
2) Video Recording
3) High Speed Filming and Computer Analysis
4) Electromyogram (EMG) – size & timing
5) Brain Activity Measures (EEG and fMRI)

Methods of Assessing Outcome

1) Response Magnitude (size of response)
2) Reaction Time (RT) - stimulus to first movement
 Fractionated Reaction Time (FRT)
o Premotor Time (PRMOT) – stimulus to first EMG
o Motor Time (MOT) – no actual movement; EMG to first movement
 Movement Time (MT) = first movement to end
 Response Time (TRT) = RT + MT
3) Accuracy/error

Four Measures of Error

1) Algebraic or Constant Error (CE) – response bias or direction of error (mean)
2) Variable Error (VE) – Standard deviation; variability of performance
3) Total Variability (E) – composite of CE and VE (root mean square error)
4) Absolute Error (AE) – gives a general indication of the magnitude of error

The Basics of Human Information

 one bit = amount of info required to reduce original uncertainty by half
 log2N = bits
 when you have one choice, you have 0 bits, since there is no uncertainty
Features of the Information Processing Model:

A) Limited Capacity
 Information is lost or filtered out by the system
 Information takes time to be processed by each function
 We have problems with multitasking due to limited capacity
 Lavie’s Road Theory – WM capacity (high/low) & error rate

B) Speed-Accuracy Operating Characteristic/Curve

 Example of limited processing capacity
 You cannot do things quickly AND accurately
 If a task requires both speed & accuracy, performers must make a choice
between the two
 Speed Accuracy Curve
o Skilled = more left
o Skilled performers can function at a higher speed with more
accuracy
 The most obvious difference between skilled/unskilled performers

Speed- Accuracy & Skilled Performers

 Skilled performers have increased their information processing
capacity
 Increase in capacity is due to storage of info/past experiences in LTM
 Process reflected by third learning stage (autonomous)  Chunking
 Power law represents development of this process
 Change to automation w/increase in processing speed has two costs:
o Time – extensive learning period
o Specialization – become really good only at one thing
ex: professional gymnasts are not good at other sports
 Skilled performers have two advantages with automated processing:
o Think ahead and plan strategies
o Anticipate opponents actions
 Highly skilled = more WM capacity

C) Response Time
 More complex the activity, longer it will take
 Response time is a composite of the different stages (perceptual, decision,
effector)

D) Limiting Principle
 Can’t tell why the person was unsuccessful by looking at the end result,
must analyze the action to discover which stage produced the problem
Three Information Processing Stages

1. Perceptual Mechanism
 Stimulus identification
2. Decision Mechanism
 Response selection
3. Effector Mechanism
 Response programing (feedback 1 from muscles)

Overview of Information Processing Model

 Feedback loop 1 – comes from muscles
 Feedback loop 2 – result of production (actions)

How to read the model

1. Arrows represent the flow of information, which has two meanings:

a) Stimuli in the environment which are perceived and acted on to achieve
some goal
b) Actual coding in the CNS
2. The boxes represent information processing stages
3. Feedback refers to information about error
4. Information processing capacity of this system is limited
Selective Attention

 Performer selects information to be processed; since capacity is limited

 Humans use selective attention to cope with unlimited amount of stimuli

Components of Selective Attention

 Visual selective attention most important (80-90% of info we take in)
 Kinesthesis and audition are secondary
 Multiple Resources Theory – control of selective attention is different in each
modality

A. Visual Selective Attention

 Measured by recording eye movement
 Movements are unconscious

Concepts about Vision

1. Foveal Vision
- eye has 2-5 degree field of view with detailed & accurate vision
- must move eyes around to perceive objects clearly
2. Fixation
- eye is fixed on an object so information can be inputted
3. Saccade
- eyes attracted to motion; rapid involuntary eye movement
- way to get eye from one fixation point to another
4. How do we “look” at something?
- Eye movements consist of saccades + fixations
5. Pursuit Movements
- eye moves at the speed of the moving object so that it is effectively fixated
and info can be inputted

Peripheral Vision
 Ability to perceive stimuli in terms of angular distance from fixation point
 Good if you’re trying to figure out if an object is there, but if you require any
more detail you’d need to look at the object directly

Car Driving Study

1. Novice drivers have a smaller range of horizontal scanning
2. Novice drivers look closer in front of the vehicle, and more to the right
3. Novice drivers sample rear view mirror less frequently
4. Novice drivers make pursuit eye movements whereas experienced drivers
made eye fixations

Summarizing Visual Selective Attention

 Unskilled & skilled have different attention strategies
  Skilled performers show more efficient strategies and know what cues to
look for

B. Auditory Selective Attention

 Capacity is limited
 Can’t process two stimuli at the same time

Selective Attention vs. Divided Attention

 The cocktail party problem  hearing your name in a crowded party
 Pay attention to one ear and ignore the other (selective attention)
 Switch attention between ears (divided attention)

Dichotic Listening Paradigm

 Can’t hear what’s going on if something else is playing in your other ear
 Used to investigate selective attention in the auditory system

Multiple Resource Theory

 We have a capacity for each stage
 Sensory processing  perception  response selection  execution
 Resources at perception & selection stages

Interference
 Subjects did not notice the pure tone presented when it was paired with a
more difficult visual perception task; inattentional deafness

Attention Summary
1. Unskilled performers are poor at doing two things at once
2. Skilled performers may also have attention problems (i.e. effects of
emotion)
3. Teach the task so that attention is allocated appropriately; means task
must be analyzed appropriately
4. Cannot necessarily rely on the verbal reports of skilled performers to
discover how attention should be allocated

Perception Stage

Signal Detection Theory

 How to solve the problem of deciding between two categories when they
are not detectable
 Concerned with the accuracy of responses
 Not under time pressure, but <100% accuracy
 Self-paced (un-paced) task
  Cut off Criterion = Different for everyone
 Criterion shift right  Strict; decrease false alarms
 Criterion shift left  Lax; decrease misses
 Type 1 error = you say there was a difference when there wasn’t (false
alarm)
 Type 2 error = there was a difference but you said there wasn’t (hit)

Perceptual Performance Depends on…

1. Perceptual Sensitivity of the performer (D’)
- better your sensitivity, further apart the curves are
2. Expectancies about the performer and the rewards and penalties in the
situation (B; Beta)

Key Variables of SDT

1. Perceptual Sensitivity measured by D’
 With high sensitivity there are more correct decisions (hits + correct
negatives) and fewer errors (misses and false alarms)
 Reverse is true for low sensitivity
 Change in D’ can be due to
o Environmental conditions
- weather while driving
o Individual differences
- experience (novice vs. experienced)

2. The Observers Criterion is measured by B (Beta)

 Cut off criteria can move left or right (value of B)
 Rewards/penalties influence how you’ll act in a certain situation
 The position of the criterion affects the number of correct decisions and
errors in the same manner as D’
Signal Detection in Action
 Novice drivers require a higher level of danger to be present before they are
willing to respond to a hazardous situation
 Experts have a more “lax” criterion, with an increase in false alarms
 Shift criteria to left; more aware of potential danger = more hits & false
alarms

Discriminatory Reaction Time (DRT)

 DRT: concerned with time to respond with accuracy constant
 You can be 100% accurate if given sufficient time to respond
 Paced task
 Example of DRT situation – volleyball; attacker can either spike or tip
o Decision by attacker depends on position of defenders

Similarity of Stimuli
 DRT to A (lines of similar height) will be longer than B (lines of different
height) because the height difference is less
 The more alike the sets of stimuli are, the longer it will take to respond
 The law relating DRT to the degree of discriminability of two stimuli is called
Crossman’s Confusion Function
 The law applies to a comparison of any two stimuli which are
o Presented simultaneously
o Can be measured along a physical dimension (ex: height, decibels)

Crossman’s Confusion Function

 DRT = a+b(X); x1 is the larger stimulus and x2 is the smaller stimulus

 X-axis is task difficulty; when y is large you have an easy problem (less bits)
 A = amount of time the other stages take (decision + effector) if we’re
perceiving
 B= how efficient the processing mechanism is (perceptual mechanism)
o Flatter the slope, more efficient you are (faster the DRT)
Visual Acuity
 Static Visual Acuity
o Not related to performance if normal; but below average vision may
be a limiting factor
o When you go to the eye doctor, this is the kind of test they do
o Does not explain much about skilled/unskilled performance
 Dynamic Visual Acuity
o Being able to see things as they/you are in motion
o Moderate relationship with performance
o Skilled performers know many patterns
o Perception of complex patterns depends on perceptual learning

Optical Flow Field

 Expansion, contraction or regular movement of all the stimuli in the field of
view
 You’ll get to F (middle) if velocity of expansion (VE) left F = VE right F
 Novice’s haven’t learned position & motion cues yet
 They have not learned to use the expansion pattern (flow field) as a position
& motion cue
 Skilled performers are quicker at recognizing particular patterns

Time to Contact (Tau)

 Cue’s associated with timing information about moving objects are crucial
 These are cues we all have built in; we have the ability to figure out timing
 Tau provides a cue for initiating movement (ex: when do I need to break?)
o Being able to stop without rear ending the car in front of you is an
example of the role of tau
 Tau (time to contact) = size of image / velocity of expansion of image
 2 Tau’s in a situation (Tau Y and Tau X)
o Brain calculates: Tau Y/Tau X
o If the ratio = 1; the two numbers are the same
o If the ratio < 1; when X > Y
o If the ratio > 1; when Y > X
 Greater the difference between X and Y, the more accurate Tau will be

Summary
 Skilled performers learn to recognize certain perceptual patterns relevant to
the skill; this is an automated stage (patterns are stored in LTM)
 Skilled performers recognize relevant patterns more quickly, this is because
they are stored in LTM and time-wasting info processing mechanisms are
bypassed
 The perceptual patterns that have to abstracted and learned by a beginner
may be very subtle
 If perceptual features of a skill are understood, systematic training would
accelerate the perceptual learning process for beginners