MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN LEARNING A PHYSICAL SKILL

Input & Information Processing

Week 3

Key Content

Input – the sensesInformation processing

Perceptual mechanismSingle channel hypothesisSelective attentionRole of memory

4 Stage Model of Processing a Physical Skill

1. Input – received via the senses

2. Information processing

3. Output

4. Feedback See page 19

1. InputInformation we receive

about the skill

2. ProcessingHow the information is processed to make a

decision

3. OutputHow we respond to the

decision made

4. FeedbackHow we evaluate the information we receiveabout our performance

Simplified Model

Input – the senses Your senses are responsible for detecting

pieces of information (cue) and conveying them to the brain

The information and signals we receive about the skill from our senses Vision Hearing Touch Equilibrium: _____________________________________________________________ Proprioception: __________________________________________________________

Information Processing

Now that your _______ have detected cues and transferred them to the brain you need to process the information to make it useful

In this way we are very much like a ________ Three very important devices carry out these

processes: Perceptual mechanism Decision-making mechanism Effector mechanism

Perceptual Mechanism

Responsible for interpretation of sensory information

Signal detection (ability to detect cues) is imperative for successful performance

Factors that affect your signal detection are:1. Ability of the sense organs2. Strength of the cue3. Noise4. Speed of the cue5. Level of arousal

Signal Detection Activity (p.44 Nelson)

Discussion questions:1. What is signal detection?2. Explain which signal (or cue) was easier

to respond to and how this affected the results

3. Were the results for the second trial different from the first? Explain

4. What implications does this have for the processing of information in a sporting situation?

Ability of the Sense Organs

Also known as sensory acuityAffects your ability to initially detect the

many cues that occurVision is most important

Strength of the Cue

Cues are easier to detect if the signal is very intenseEg: yellow footballs for night, yellow tennis

balls on a clay courtOther examples?

Noise

_________ cues in the environment that can distract a performer

Relevant cues vs. Noise Need to be able to ignore noise and concentrate on

the relevant signal detection

Not just audible distractions! Sun Crowd movement Smell of a nearby BBQ! Crowd cheering

Speed of the Cue

Or, length of time the cue is presentLonger a cue is available the more likely

it is to be detectedEg: 200km/hr serve doesn’t give much time

to detect the spin, angle and speed

Level of Arousal

Arousal is the amount of mental energy or preparedness a person has prior to performance

Need to have _________ arousal so that you are ready to detect cues

Two types of arousal can impact negatively on performance Under-aroused: too _________ or disinterested Over-aroused: too _________ or over-excited

Optimal Arousal Level

At this point the highest degree of learning and performance occurs

Varies from person to personCoach needs to have skills in detecting

individual optimal arousal levelsEg: Roger Federer now vs.

early in his career

The Senses – Case Study

View the two photos1. For each photo what skill is being

depicted?

2. What are the senses and corresponding sensory cues needed to perform each skill?

3. How could you modify equipment to enhance the ability of the sense to detect cues from the environment?

Media Analysis – “The Zone”

Read the article on pages 24 & 25Your thoughts…

What is the zone referring to?Do you believe in the zone? Why/why not?What are some key parts to being in “the

zone”?Can you think of some elite performances of

athletes being in “the zone”?

Single Channel Hypothesis

Human information processor can only deal with one cue at a time

Multiple cues must ______Therefore, if you reduce the amount of

information (cues) you can decrease the processing time required

Selective Attention

It would take to long to process every cue and you often don’t have enough time on a sporting field to wait

An experienced athlete can filter out ________ information (selective attention)

This helps to focus more on the relevant cues Selective attention is affected by:

Level of arousal Experience and anticipation Quality of instruction

Selective Attention Experience and anticipation

Skilled performer trains to concentrate on relevant cues and disregard irrelevant cues

Past experiences help to enable the performer to respond to familiar cues (and anticipate the movements of team mates and opponents)

Quality of instruction Beginners often don’t know what to concentrate on A good coach can help to identify and direct

learners to attend to the most appropriate cues by providing instructions on why they are important

What else can the coach do? Page 27

Role of Memory

See diagram on page 28Information can be stored temporarily or

permanentlyThree types of memory

Short term sensory storeShort term memoryLong term memory

Short Term Sensory Store

_________ capacityBut can only remember for 1 secondTherefore, selective attention selects

more relevant information and sends it the short term memory

Short Term Memory

Limited capacity 5-9 items (7 plus or minus 2)

60 seconds duration‘Working’ memory

Learner can use it to improve performance by remembering coaching information and making corrections and modifications

Short Term Memory

Short term memory is affected by: Chunking (coding)

Way of increasing amount of information that can be remembered

Eg: Ph numbers – 5428 3691 not 54283691 Noise (distraction, interference) Meaningfulness (relevance)

More likely to remember if you believe it is relevant to your task

Rehearsal (practice) Must rehearse information for it to be transferred into short

term memory Needs to occur as soon as possible

Long Term Memory

Unlimited capacity ___________ stores information for future use Rehearsal is necessary to allow for information

transfer from short term memory Retains experiences so that you can recognise

and compare them with new incoming information Motor programs can be stored and then modified as

needed for new tasks

Memory Test

Activity 12, page 30Complete with a partnerRespond to questions

Decision-Making Mechanism

Final stage of information processingConstructs a plan of action (motor

program) to enact an appropriate physical response

Located in the short term memoryLong term memory can send a motor

program to STM and it is compared to information located here to devise the most appropriate response

Homework Tasks

In your own words define the following key terms: Proprioception Perceptual mechanism Signal detection Noise Optimal arousal Selective attention Chunking

Devise three questions to ask a partner regarding this section