The Perception & Action Podcast

A look at research examining how machine learning techniques can be used to further our understanding of motor learning, investigating questions related to talent development, the structure of practice, the level of tactical proficiency, and recovery from practice.   Articles: Complementing subjective with objective data in analysing expertise: A machine-learning approach applied to badminton The...

A discussion with Christian Vater from the University of Bern. What are the different ways athletes use peripheral vision in sports? Can you train an athlete to adopt a different gaze strategy? How can we use VR to better understand and train vision in sports.   More info about my guest: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=n0fsp3UAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Christi...

A look at recent studies investigating the use of situational probabilities by athletes? Does knowing your opponent's tendencies make you more susceptible to deception? Does it matter whether you are given probability info about your opponent or acquire it yourself? How can we account for the use of this type of information in an ecological approach to action?   Articles: Integrating situational p...

How do implicit and explicit learning interact with each other? If a coach gives an athlete an explicit strategy for correcting their technique is it going to hinder implicit learning? What does this say about whether it is a good idea for a coach to sample from different theoretical approaches and philosophies in practice design?   Articles: An implicit plan overrides an explicit strategy during...

A look at how modifying sports equipment (e.g., changing size, altering mass distribution or making more flexible) can enhance motor learning by adding variability and increasing movement execution redundancy.   Articles: Equipment modification can enhance skill learning in young field hockey players "Essential noise" - Enhancing variability of informational constraints benefits movement control:...

A look at individual differences in motor learning and coordination. What are intrinsic dynamics and how do they influence learning? How do patterns of coordination change with learning? Why do some athletes seem to be better able to self-organize than others?   Articles: Multi-stability and meta-stability: understanding dynamic coordination in the brain Beyond the blank slate: routes to learning...

A look at the concepts of multi and meta-stability in coordination. How can a performer have multiple movement solutions that are both stable and flexible at the same time? How might we develop this by training within meta-stable regions?   Articles: Multi-stability and meta-stability: understanding dynamic coordination in the brain How boxers decide to punch a target: emergent behaviour in nonlin...

I am joined by Damian Farrow, Alex Lascu, Derek Panchuk and Carl Woods to discuss the article: Sport Practitioners as Sport Ecology Designers: How Ecological Dynamics Has Progressively Changed Perceptions of Skill "Acquisition" in the Sporting Habitat. We discuss: the shift from coach as instructor to coach designer, the challenges of "hands-off" coaching, do coaches need to understanding skill ac...

A discussion with Paula Silva from the University of Cincinnati. How can stress help a performer adapt and grow? What is anti-fragility? How do we measure and it and train it? How can it be used to challenge an athlete at the right level? What is dynamic touch and how is it important for coordination and "feel"?   More info about my guest: https://researchdirectory.uc.edu/p/silvapa https://www.res...

How should biomechanics be applied in sport to improve performance and reduce injury? Should we be identifying ideal movement parameters from group based analyses or attempting to optimize for each individual athlete? How can we make biomechanics tools more accessible? Plus a discussion with Mike Sonne and Casey Mullholland about the development and use of a phone app for biomechanics analyses.  ...

A discussion with Matt Dicks from the University of Portsmouth. How does "anticipation" behavior change as we vary the degree of perception-action coupling? What is the role of perceived afffordances and action capabilities in the control of action? How do we explore our environment to learn (i.e. acting to perceive)? Should exploring be treated as something different than performing?   More info...

I am joined by Rajiv Ranganathan and Harjiv Singh to discuss the 1996 article "What are "normal movements" in atypical populations?" Are atypical movements in impaired populations actually functional adaptations to changes in constraints? Does a therapist "know better than our CNS" such that we should be trying to correct these adaptations and get the movement pattern back to normal? How do these...

A discussion with Wolfgang Schollhorn from the University of Mainz. What has research on coordination profiling shown about the role individuality and variability in skilled performance? Why is noise essential for perceptual-motor control? How does differential learning promote motor learning and what are practical guidelines for how to use it effectively?   More info about my guest: http://dls-sp...

A look at some technologies that might allow a coach or therapist to guide motor learning remotely. What has initial research shown about the effectiveness of these devices? How should auditory and vibrotactile feedback be used to guide movement? Also including a discussion with the developer and some users of the Kinesthetic Awareness Training System (KATS).   Article: Vibrotactile feedback as a...

A discussion with John van der Kamp from Vrije University in Amsterdam. What does the latest research say about the benefits of implicit learning? Does it promote automaticity? What are the roles of the dorsal and ventral streams in the control of action and the perception of affordances? How can constraints manipulations and adding variability to practice help athletes find "creative" movement so...

I am joined by Ed Coughlan to discuss Anders Ericsson's recent article "Clarifying the differences between deliberate practice and other types of practice". Does deliberate practice really have any relevance to sports? How does it differ from purposeful practice? How can we reverse engineer expertise?   Article: Clarifying the differences between deliberate practice and other types of practice   M...

Celebrating the 300th episode by looking at how my personal views about perceptual-motor control and skill acquisition have been shaped by my experiences and changed over time. Links: Why is it difficult to catch a poorly thrown or kicked football? A perceptual perspective More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My ASU Web page Podcast Facebook pa...

A discussion with Kate Wilmut from Oxford Brookes University. How is the perception of affordances, motor control and planning affected in Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD)? How are embodied perception and actions related? How are changes in motor control related to changes in executive function (e.g. working memory, attentional control) across the lifespan?   More info about my guest: htt...

I am joined by Duarte Araujo, Marianne Davies, Ben Franks & Stuart Armstrong to discuss the topic of affordances. How do affordances invite opportunities for action and how do we select between them? How can coaches design practice activities to encourage athletes to accept these invitations?   Article: Affordances can invite behavior: Reconsidering the relationship between affordances and agency...

I am joined by Joe Baker, David Mann, Joerg Schorer and Nick Wattie to discuss topics including: what exactly is "talent", how good are we at talent ID/selection and what impacts does it have on sports and society, what are the pros and cons of early specialization, and the future conferencing. More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My ASU Web pa...

A discussion with James Rudd from Liverpool John Moores University. What are the trends in movement competency/skill in children in recent years? How should we be assessing skill and Physical Literacy? How do nonlinear and linear approaches to PE compare in terms of developing competency and creativity in movement skill?   More info about my guest: https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/about-us/staff-profiles/fa...

A discussion with Jia Yi Chow from the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. What is nonlinear pedagogy? What has research shown regarding its effectiveness in PE teaching? How can a coach become more effective at using it and related approaches like the CLA.     More info about my guest: https://www.nie.edu.sg/profile/chow-jia-yi More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research...

I am joined by Andrew Wilson, Tyler Yearby and Garrett Boyum to discuss Prospective Control. We talk about how it differs from predictive control, the patterns of behaviors it creates, how it de-emphasizes the importance of reaction time, how it changes with practice and affordance-based control.   Article: Prospective control in sport   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research G...

A discussion with Ben Cohen from the Wall Street Journal about his new book – The Hot Hand: The Mystery & Science of Streaks. Does the Hot Hand in sports exist? How does it change the behavior of people around the player with the "hot hand"? How can this idea be extended to other domains like film making?   More info about my guest: https://www.bzcohen.com/book   More information: http://perceptio...

I am joined by Sam Vine from Exeter and Cathy Craig from INCISIV for a discussion about present and future of VR Training. What can and can't VR do for sports training? How should we be assessing VR systems? How can it be a value add to real practice? More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My ASU Web page Podcast Facebook page (videos, pics, etc)...