Lecture 10

Question 1

motor learning

Answer 1

a set of processes associated with practice or experience leading to relatively permanent gains in the capability for skilled performance

Question 2

capability

Answer 2

reflects the idea that any single performance may not reflect skill level underlying the performance

Question 3

brain plasticity

Answer 3

• changes to these processes may include:
  1. Stimulus identification: increased automaticity
  2. Response selection: responses selected, and parameterized-they get more specific
  3. Movement programming & motor program: more effective GMP and processes
  4. Comparator: more accurate and precise feedback

Question 4

motor learning defined

Answer 4

• to emphasize the features of the definitions of learning, the following statements are important to keep in mind:
  a) learning results from practice or experience
  b) learning is not directly observable
  c) learning changes are inferred from certain performance changes
  d) learning involves a set processes in the CNS
  e) learning produces an acquired capability for skilled performance
  f) learning changes are relatively permanent, not temporary

Question 5

measuring motor learning-performance curves

Answer 5

• performance curves are plots of individual performance against practice trials
• such curves can either increase or decrease with practice, depending on the particular way the task is scored
• the law of practice says that improvements are rapid at first and much slower later in practice

Question 6

temporary and relatively permanent effects of practice

Answer 6

• practice can have numerous effects on the learner:
  a) relatively permanent effects that persist across many days, even years
  b) temporary effects that vanish with time or a change in conditions (pos or neg)
  c) simultaneous temporary and relatively permanent effects

Question 7

so how can we separate permanent and temporary effects

Answer 7

transfer design

Question 8

transfer designs

Answer 8

• essential features of transfer designs:
  1. Allow sufficient time for temporary effects of practice to dissipate
  2. The time needed will vary depending on the nature of the temporary effects
• transfer or retention test: evaluate learners again with all groups performing under identical conditions
• any differences observed in this transfer test are due to a difference in the relatively permanent capability for performance acquired during earlier practice

Question 9

transfer of learning

Answer 9

-transfer occurs when practice on one task contributes to performance capability in some other task

Question 10

measuring transfer

Answer 10

• we want to estimate the performance level of the criterion (whole) task, with the relatively permanent effects of learning separated from any temporary performance effects
• transfer concerns how performance on the transfer task is influenced by practice on some other task
  ex) simulated setting transferred to real life (fire fighter training)

Question 11

positive transfer

Answer 11

occurs when a treatment ex) practice on another skill) facilitates performance over and above no practice

Question 12

negative transfer

Answer 12

occurs when a treatment ex) practice om another skill) degrades performance in comparison to those that received no additional practice