attentional focus
the information at which the performers attention or consciousness is directed
external focus
a focus on information that is the consequence of the action being produced ex: movement of a golf club, the flight of the ball
internal focus
a focus on information associated with the body's movement in producing the action EX. how much the elbow is bent, and the timing of hip rotation
narrow focus
a focus on a narrow range of information sources at one time
broad focus
`a focus on a wide range of information sources at one time
open-skill
a skill performed in an environment that is unpredictable or in motion and that requires performers to adapt their movements in response to dynamic properties of the environment
closed skill
a skill performed in an environment that is predictable or stationary and that allows performers to plan their movements in advance
anxiety
a person's uneasiness or distress about the future uncertainties; a perception of threat to the self (often characterized by elevated arousal levels)
arousal
the level of activation of the central nervous system; varies from extremely low levels during sleep to extremely high levels during intense physical or mental activity
process goals
targets for performance that focus on the quality of movement production
outcome goals
targets for performance that focus on the end result of the activity
massed practice
a practice schedule in which the amount of rest between practice attempts or between practice sessions is relatively shorter than the amount of time spent practicing
distributed practice
a practice schedule in which the amount of rest between practice attempts or between practice sessions is relatively longer than the amount of time spent practicing
blocked practice
a practice sequence in which individuals rehearse the same skill repeatedly
limited attentional capacity
the notion that attention is limited to atmost a few activities at one time
modeling
a practice procedure that involves the demonstration of a skill for the benefit of a person who is trying to learn the skill
observational learning
the process by which learners acquire the capability for action by observing the performance of others
guidance
a procedure used to direct (either physically,verbally, and or visually) learners through task performance in an effort to reduce errors or reduce fear
active guidance
a type of guidance procedure that involves active movement by the performer which tends to preserve a relative timing pattern and feel of the target skill
passive guidance
a type of guidance procedure that involves passive movement of the learner (e.g. the instructor moves the learners limbs through the fundamental pattern), which can alter the nature and feel of the target skill
simulator
a training device that mimics various features of a real world task
target skills
the skills a person wishes to be able to perform
target context
the environmental context in which people want to be able to perform a skill or skills
seral skill
a type of skill organization that is characterized by several discrete actions connected together in a sequence, often with the order of the actions being crucial to performance success
part practice
practice of a complex skill in a more simplified form; the three types of part practice are fractionization, segmentation, and simplification
fractionization
a type of part practice in which one or more parts of a complex skill are practiced separately
segmentation
a type of part practice in which one part of a target skill is practiced for a time, then a second part is added to the first and the two are practiced together, and so on until the entire target skill is practiced; also referred to as progressive part practice
simplification
a type of part practice in which the complexity of some aspect of the target skill is reduced (ex. slow motion practice, use of oversized ball)
component interaction
the extent to which actions involved in one part of a complex skill influence actions involved in other parts
motor program
`a set of motor commands that is prestructured at the executive level and that defines the essential details of a skilled action; analogous to a central pattern generator
specificity of learning
the notion that the best learning experiences are those that approximate most closely the movement components and environmental conditions of the target skill and target context
generalized motor program
a motor program that defines a pattern of movement rather than a specific movement; this flexibility allows performers to adapt the generalized program to produce variations of the pattern that meet various environmental demands
mental practice
the practice of a motor skill in the absence of overt movement
verbal cognitive stage
the initial stage of learning in which verbal and cognitive process dominate the learners activity
mental imagery
the mental practice technique in which people imagine themselves performing a motor skill from either a first person or third person perspective