Motor Learning and Performance

Richard A. Schmidt, PhD (1941-2015) was a professor emeritus in the department of psychology at UCLA. At the time of his death, Schmidt ran his own business, Human Performance Research, conducting research and consulting in the area of human factors and human performance. Widely acknowledged as one of the leaders in research on motor behavior, he had more than 40 years of experience in the area of motor learning and performance. The originator of both schema theory and impulse-variability theory (aka Schmidts Law), he founded the Journal of Motor Behavior in 1969 and was editor for 11 years. He authored the first edition of Motor Control and Learning in 1982 and the first edition of this book, Motor Learning and Performance, in 1991. Schmidt was highly recognized for his contribution of a lifetime of research and writing. In recognition of his work, he received honorary doctorates from the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium (in 1992) and the Universit Joseph Fourier in France (in 1998). He was a longtime member of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA), where he served as president in 1982 and received the organizations two highest honors: the Distinguished Scholar Award for lifetime contributions to research in motor control and learning (in 1992) and the Presidents Award for significant contributions to the development and growth of NASPSPA (in 2013). He was also a member of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society and the Psychonomic Society and received the C.H. McCloy Research Lectureship from the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. His leisure-time passions included sailboat and Porsche racing. Timothy D. Lee, PhD, is a professor emeritus in the department of kinesiology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. He has published extensively in motor behavior and psychology journals since 1980, served as an editor for the Journal of Motor Behavior and Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, and has been an editorial board member for Psychological Review. Until his retirement in 2014, his research was supported primarily by grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Tim has been a member, secretary-treasurer, and president of the Canadian Society for Psychomotor Learning and Sport Psychology (SCAPPS) and a member of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA), the Psychonomic Society, and the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. In 1980 Tim received the inaugural Young Scientist Award from SCAPPS, and in 2011 he was named a fellow of the societyits highest honor. He was named an international fellow by the National Academy of Kinesiology in 1999 and awarded the Distinguished Scholar Award by NASPSPA in 2017. Tim is an avid golfer who competes in local, national, and international tournaments. He teamed with a good friend to win the Ontario Senior Better Ball Championship in 2017.

Chapter 1. Introduction to Motor Learning and Performance Why Study Motor Skills? The Science of Motor Learning and Performance Focus on Research 1.1: Paul M. Fitts Focus on Research 1.2: Franklin M. Henry, Father of Motor Behavior Research Defining Skills Components of Skills Classifying Skills Measuring Skilled Performance Understanding Performance and Learning Summary Learning Aids Part I. Principles of Skilled Performance Chapter 2. Processing Information and Making Decisions The Information-Processing Approach Focus on Application 2.1: Intent to Blow Whistle Rule in NHL Reaction Time and Decision Making Focus on Research 2.1: Donders Stages of Processing Focus on Research 2.2: Hicks Law Focus on Application 2.2: Light Switches Focus on Research 2.3: Assessing Anticipation Skills Focus on Application 2.3: Cost/Benefit of Anticipating in Sprint Starting Memory Systems Summary Learning Aids Chapter 3. Attention and Performance Focus on Application 3.1: William James on Attention What Is Attention? Limitations in Stimulus Identification Focus on Research 3.1: Automatic Stimulus Processing in Basketball Limitations in Response Selection Focus on Research 3.2: Distracted-Driving Research Limitations in Movement Programming Focus on Research 3.3: The Double-Stimulation Paradigm Focus of Attention During Action Decision Making Under Stress Focus on Application 3.2: Driver Panic and Unintended Acceleration Summary Learning Aids Chapter 4. Sensory Contributions to Skilled Performance Sources of Sensory Information Processing Sensory Information Focus on Application 4.1: Force Escalation Between Siblings Principles of Visual Control Focus on Research 4.1: Blindsight Reveals Dorsal and Ventral Stream Processing Focus on Research 4.2: Gaze Control Focus on Application 4.2: Visibility in Nighttime CarTruck Accidents Audition and Motor Control Focus on Application 4.3: When Vision Distorts Performance Summary Learning Aids Chapter 5. Motor Programs Motor Program Theory Evidence for Motor Programs Focus on Research 5.1: The HenryRogers Experiment Focus on Application 5.1: Checked Swings in Baseball Focus on Research 5.2: Initiating a Motor Program Motor Programs and the Conceptual Model Problems in Motor Program Theory: Novelty and Storage Generalized Motor Program Theory Focus on Research 5.3: Invariances and Parameters Focus on Application 5.2: Relative-Timing Fingerprints Focus on Application 5.3: The Stereo System Analogy Summary Learning Aids Chapter 6. Principles of Speed, Accuracy, and Timing Fitts Law Focus on Research 6.1: The Fitts Tasks Focus on Application 6.1: Fitts Law in Everyday Actions Schmidts Law SpeedAccuracy Trade-Off Exceptions Applying the Principles: Baseball Batting Speed of Initiating Movement Summary Learning Aids Chapter 7. Performance of Complex Movements Traditional Approaches to Studying Complex Movement Focus on Application 7.1: The Relative-Age Effect Coordinating Discrete Movements Focus on Research 7.1: Coordination in Golf Putting Coordinating Continuous Movements Focus on Research 7.2: Relative Phase: An Index of Coordination Summary Learning Aids Part II. Principles of Skill Learning Chapter 8. Introduction to Motor Learning Motor Learning Defined How Is Motor Learning Measured? Focus on Research 8.1: Learning Curves: Facts or Artifacts? Distinguishing Learning from Performance Focus on Application 8.1: Self-Assessments of Learning Transfer of Learning Summary Learning Aids Chapter 9. The Motor Learning Process Skill Acquisition Focus on Research 9.1: Learning Never Ends Focus on Application 9.1: Fitts and Bernstein on Learning to Play Ice Hockey Focus on Research 9.2: A Constraints-Led Approach to Baseball Batting Skill Retention Skill Transfer Summary Learning Aids Chapter 10. Organizing and Scheduling Practice Motivation for Learning Attentional Focus Demonstrat