Section B: Acquiring, developing and performing movement skills

7. Theory of information processing in the performance of motor skills

Syllabus

• Basic models of information processing • Memory • Reaction time • Feedback • Phases of learning movement skills • Transfer of learning • Motivation • Theories related to arousal levels

• Two of the better known models are Whiting’s

and Welford’s models • Although they use slightly different

terminology both models reflect the same process:– Stimulus identification (input) – Response identification (central) – Response programming (output)

Stimulus identification

• Deciding if a stimulus has happened• Stimulus: information that stands out, that the person pays

attention too• This is done by the sensory system receiving info.• E.G. deciding the direction and speed a ball is travelling• This stage involves the perceptual process• Relies on sensory system

– Exteroceptors – extrinsic information – Proprioceptors – nerve receptors in muscles/joints (intrinsic

information) – Interoceptors – information from internal organs (heart, lungs etc)

Response selection

• Deciding on what to do with the info you’ve got.

• This connects with the previous stage• E.G. The ball is high and to the left, so I must

move to my left to catch it• Perception (assembling sensations into usable

representations), selective attention (filters irrelevant information), STM and LTM are all involved

Response programming

• The brain receives the decision about which movement to make, and organises the motor system (muscles and nerves) to do it

• E.G. Sends out messages via nerves to the relevant muscles to move to the left

• Motor programmes or schemas are used• Feedback

Welford’s model

Whiting’s model

Memory

• All information being received by the senses is stored in the memory. In sport, perceiving the flight of a ball, or knowing which muscle commands to use to be able to perform a somersault, require that remembered information be used in the execution of the action.

Selective attention

• The process of selective attention is responsible for selecting relevant from irrelevant information from the display.

• The efficiency of the short-term sensory store and the selective attention process is influenced by several factors:

• Experience • Arousal • Quality of instruction • Intensity of stimulus

Selective attention can be improved by:

• Lots of relevant practice • Increasing the intensity of the stimulus • Use of language appropriate to performer –

improve motivation and arousal • Direct attention

• There are three stores in memory:– Short-term sensory stores (STSS)– Short-term memory (STM)– Long-term memory (LTM)

• There are three processes within memory:– Encoding (putting information into a store)– Maintenance (keeping it alive)– Retrieval (finding encoded information)

STSS

• All the information coming in from the environment can be stored in the STSS.

• This means that these stores must have a huge capacity, but these memories only last for about half a second or less.

• Separate STSS compartments are thought to operate for each form of sensory information. It is subconscious, and if not immediately attended to, is lost.

• Therefore selective attention takes place in the STSS. If the information is useful it will be encoded.

STM• Only information that is attended to is moved from STSS to the STM. That is why it is

important in sport that attention is maintained whilst performing a skill.• The capacity of the STM is limited. Information can be retained for up to 60 seconds, but

the capacity is limited to 5-9 items.• Chunking helps. This is the idea of storing not single items like letters but groups of items

as single pieces of information. • e.g. the letters B D E make up three items of information whilst the word BED represents

one item even though it is composed of the same number of letters.• Information remains in the STM only as long as it is attended to, for example by

rehearsal. This rehearsal can be imagining an action, or by sub-verbal repetition.• If attention is directed elsewhere information in the STM is lost within 30 seconds. • STM is very important when learning motor skills. You need to be able to recall

information about a performance so that you can compare it to previous performances.• Hence all the information involved in the learning and performing of skills is compared

to existing information via the STM and for this reason it is sometimes called the working memory. The Detection, Comparison and Recognition process occurs within the STM.

STM

• STM is important for the coach. The limited capacity of the STM means that instructions to learners should be:– Brief.– To the point.– Given when learner is paying attention.

• Otherwise the information will be lost from the STM before the learner can use it. selective attention is really just another form of rehearsal, in that it lengthens the time that a stimulus remains in the STM. In other words selective attention keeps the information alive in STM. This is the idea of maintenance.

LTM• All information that enters the STM is rehearsed and is stored. All information in the

STM is either stored in the LTM or lost.• The LTM is therefore a store of well-learned past experiences. It has almost limitless

capacity and items may be stored for dozens of years.• The information held in the LTM is used to compare against new experiences. The

LTM also stores responses used in these different situations. Using LTM involves the process of retrieval of information and passing it into the STM.

• Retention and retrieval of information from LTM is influenced by:• Rehearsal - the more a memory is rehearsed, the more likely it is that it will be

remembered.• Meaningfulness – the more meaningful a memory is, the more likely it is to be

remembered.• Speed of learning – the quicker a process is learned, the more likely it is to be

remembered.• Over-learning – the more a skill is practiced, even when perfected, the better it will

be remembered.

Retrieval of information

• Recognition– A cue or a signal – seeing something familiar

• Recall – Actively search memory stores for a learned skill

• Relearning – Easier to learn second time round

• Imagery

To ensure that important information stays in the LTM, it is important to:• Repeat • Associate (link) information• Make information meaningful• Make stimuli recognisable

• STM and LTM work together. When a batsman is facing the bowler, they know by experience (LTM) that they must focus on the ball (STM). Once the ball leaves the bowlers hand (STM) the batsman will have experience of the flight of the ball (LTM) to be able to predict the flight of the ball. they can then refer to his store of information (LTM) as to how that ball might bounce. They may then select an appropriate response (LTM) about what stroke to play. In other words the batsman is continuously moving from using information from his sensors to information that has been stored so that he can play the correct stroke.

• The better the player the quicker they are able to process the information and the greater the capacity (or the less that is cluttered up!) to deal with it.

Memory is Essential

Reception (input)

Sensory information: 1) selective attention

2) encoding

Storage (central process)

Selected sensory information retained:1) STM2) LTM

Retrieval (output)

Stored information is recovered and used:

1) recognition2) recall

3) practice

• Skill acquisition emphasises that motor skills are to a large part cognitive in nature. It follows therefore, that in the same way a person can logically think through an intellectual problem, so they can also think through a sequence of movements without physically moving.

• Mental rehearsal is far easier for closed skills. In open skills, part of the plan of action must also include knowledge about the relevant environmental cues with which the movements must be matched.

• Mental rehearsal is defined as the improvement in performance that results from an individual either thinking about a skill, or watching someone else perform it (live or recorded), or even reading or listening to instructions.

Uses of mental rehearsal

• Mental rehearsal has an important role in the acquiring of skill.

• Mental rehearsal (sometimes called imagery) is often used by elite performers in controlling their arousal.

• Mental rehearsal can be used to practice when the performer is unable to undertake physical practice due to physical fatigue or being injured.

• Mental practice can be used to reduce psychological refractory period.

• Imagery can be used to help develop confidence.

Reaction time

• Reaction time is the speed at which we are able to process information and make decisions

• Being able to respond quickly is important to success in many sporting situations

• A stimulus activates a particular sensory system• The stimulus travels from the sensory system to the brain• The brain (central mechanism) processes the stimulus and

decides on a course of action• The appropriate command is sent from the brain to the

relevant muscles (effectors) to carry out the action

Reaction time

• THE TIME BETWEEN THE ONSET OF THE STIMULUS AND THE START OF THE MOVEMENT IN RESPONSE TO IT

• e.g. The time between when a sprinter hears the starting gun and starts to move

Movement time

• THE TIME TAKEN FROM STARTING THE MOVEMENT TO COMPLETING IT

• e.g. The time from when a sprinter first presses on their blocks to when they cross the finish line

Response time

• THE TIME FROM THE ONSET OF A STIMULUS TO THE COMPLETION OF THE MOVEMENT

• e.g. The time from the sprinter hearing the stimulus of the gun to finishing the race

RESPONSE TIME = REACTION TIME + MOVEMENT TIME

Factors that affect reaction time• AGE: reaction time gets quicker until approx. age 20, then reactions get slower as you get

older• GENDER: males generally have faster reaction times• LIMB USED: the further information has to travel in the nervous system the slower the

reactions. ie. The reaction of feet is slower than hands• ALERTNESS/ AROUSAL/ MOTIVATION: levels of these affect reaction time. Optimum levels

are needed to react quickly• BODY TEMPERATURE: when cold reactions are slower. Performing a ‘warm up’ prepares

athletes to react quickly• SENSORY SYSTEM RECEIVING THE STIMULUS: reaction time varies depending on the sense

being used• A WARNING: reactions are quicker when expecting a stimulus eg. In the sprint start knows

that after hearing the word ‘set’ the gun will go off• STIMULUS INTENSITY: loud sounds or bright colours stimulate quicker reactions eg. Use of a

starting pistol or a brightly coloured ball in beach volleyball• LIKELIHOOD: if there is a good chance of the stimulus occurring reactions will be quicker

than to a stimulus that rarely occurs

Simple reaction time

• If an athlete only has to respond to one stimulus this is termed ‘ simple reaction time’

• e.g. At the start of a race a swimmer only listens for the sound of the starting gun. The only decision to be made is when to start to move

Choice reaction time

• In many sporting situations performers are faced with more than one stimulus and more than one possible response, This is ‘choice reaction time’

• e.g. In badminton an athlete is faced with many stimuli – position of opponent, speed, direction, trajectory of the shuttlecock – and may have to choose between several possible shots in response

Hick’s law

• Choice reaction time increases linearly as the number of stimulus/ choice alternatives increases

• This can be used to slow reactions from opponents

• e.g. In football a defender will respond more slowly if several attackers are approaching the goal area than if there is only the one player with the ball

Improving reaction time• PRACTICE – enables performers to improve cue recognition. With practice the response can

become automatic• MENTAL REHEARSAL –ensures attention to the correct cues and response to the correct stimuli. It

activates the neuro-muscular system like physical training and affects arousal levels• EXPERIENCE – enhances the performer’s awareness of the probability of particular stimuli

occurring• STIMULUS-RESPONSE COMPATIBILITY – the more natural or usual the response the quicker the

reaction time. Coaches try to create a strong stimulus-response bond (S-R)• CONCENTRATION/ SELECTIVE ATTENTION – focussing on only relevant information improves

reaction time• CUE DETECTION – analysing an opponent’s play enables an athlete to anticipate what they are

going to do and react more quickly to the move• PHYSICAL FITNESS – the fitter you are the quicker you will be• AROUSAL/ MOTIVATION – optimum levels are needed to react quickly• WARM UP –ensures physical and mental preparation • ANTICIPATION – SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL• SPATIAL ANTICIPATION – predicting what will happen• TEMPORAL –predicting when it will happen

Psychological refractory period • Anticipation can speed up reactions but if we anticipate incorrectly

reaction times can be slowed down.• If we detect a stimulus and are processing that information when a second

stimulus occurs we are unable to process the second stimulus until we have finished processing the first one, making our reaction times longer

• This extra reaction time is known as the ‘psychological refractory period’ (PRP)

• e.g. By using a dummy in football or a feint dodge in netball we can make defenders move in one direction while we go the other

• DECEPTION MAKES USE OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL REFRACTORY PERIOD• Psychologists explain this by the ‘single-channel hypothesis’ – we have a

single channel for processing information and can only process one piece of information at a time