The Perception & Action Podcast

Is having numerous possible solutions to a motor task a problem of redundancy that must be solved by somehow restricting the perception-action system? Or is it a gift of abundance that allows us to better adapt and react to our environment by developing new synergies?   Articles: There is no motor redundancy in human movements. There is motor abundance The Bliss of Motor Abundance Stages in learni...

A look at the somewhat controversial topic of general perceptual-motor abilities. Are there general abilities such as agility and hand-eye coordination that apply to all sports or are the skills athletes use mainly sports specific? If such general abilities do exist, is it worth testing for them and training to improve them?   Articles: The General Motor Ability Hypothesis: An Old Idea Revisited S...

A look at some recent research on representative design. How can we evaluate the representativeness of typical practice activities used in sport? What expertise differences emerge when we evaluate athletes in a more representative test environment?   Articles: Application of representative learning design for assessment of common practice tasks in tennis Emergence of Skilled Behaviors in Professio...

Do the principles derived from studying simple laboratory skills apply to the more complex skills involved in most sports? How does task complexity influence the way in which we manipulate load and challenge in practice? How should we schedule practice, give feedback and give physical assistance when training complex tasks?   Articles: Principles derived from the study of simple skills do not gene...

What is the optimal spacing of training sessions to promote acquisition of a new skill? How does it depend on task complexity and intensity? What underlying processes are involved?   Articles: Spacing Repetitions Over Long Timescales: A Review and a Reconsolidation Explanation Rate of learning in relation to spacing of practice periods in archery and badminton Delayed Benefits from Spaced Training...

How do the emotions of an athlete constrain the movement solutions that emerge in practice? How can they be used an indicator of progress in learning? How might a coaches’ emotions influences skill acquisition and performance? Articles/links: The dynamics of expertise acquisition in sport: The role of affective learning design Emotional games: How coaches' emotional expressions shape players' emot...

The second episode in a series looking at the contributions of Paul Fitts to our understanding of motor control and motor learning. A look at Fitts’ highly influential 3 phase model of skill acquisition involving cognitive, fixation and autonomous phases. Is this model really at complete odds with more recent ecological approaches?   Articles: Perceptual-motor skill learning Factors in complex ski...

Does our perception of affordances in our environment depend on psychological momentum, changing as we move towards or away from achieving our goal? What is the value of informal, unstructured practice? How does it conform to the principles of ecological dynamics?   Articles: Perceiving affordances in sports through a momentum lens The Role of Informal, Unstructured Practice in Developing Football...

The first episode in a series looking at the contributions of Paul Fitts to our understanding of motor control and motor learning. What is Fitts’ Law? How can it be used to understand and predict speed-accuracy tradeoffs (e.g. between throwing hard and throwing accurately) in sports?   Articles: The information capacity of the human motor system in controlling the amplitude of movement Information...

A look at David Lee’s Tau Coupling theory which seeks to explain how movements are controlled by using taus from our different senses and intrinsic tau guides. What is general tau theory and why does this variable apply to more than just approaching objects?   Articles: Guiding movement by coupling taus Guiding the swing in golf putting Guiding contact by coupling the taus of gaps When Is Behavior...

The final episode in my series looking at the contributions of JJ Gibson to the study of perception and action. Where is the ecological approach to perception and action now? What evidence is there to support it? What are some of the challenges it still faces?   Articles: Perceiving action boundaries in the volleyball block Affordances can invite behavior: Reconsidering the relationship between af...

124 – The Legacy of James J Gibson II: The Theory of Affordances & Its Application to Sports   The second episode in a series looking at the incredible contributions of JJ Gibson to the study of perception and action. How do we go from information to goal-directed action? What are affordances and effectivities? How can they be used to guide our understanding of sports performance?   Articles:...

The first episode in a series looking at the incredible contributions of JJ Gibson to the study of perception and action.  What is direct perception? What are invariants? How do these ideas form the foundation for ideas like the constraints led approach and ecological dynamics?   Articles: The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception The Senses Considered as Perceptual Systems Perception with an E...

Some reflections on the excellent Skill Acquisition Summit I recently attended at the Florida Baseball Ranch. What are some of the best practices for using self-organization for developing sports skills?   Articles/Links: Florida Baseball Ranch Summit Comparing cueing and constraints interventions for increasing launch angle in baseball batting   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My R...

A look at a couple interesting recent articles on motor learning. How much variability should we add to practice and when? Are skills strengthened when they are reconsolidated when performing slight variations? Does sitting in chest deep water improve skill acquisition?   Articles: Motor Skills Are Strengthened through Reconsolidation Comparison of motor skill learning, grip strength and memory re...

A look at the process of perceptual-motor calibration. How do we scale our perception of affordances in the environment to our action capabilities? What conditions are needed to allow for effective calibration and recalibration?   Articles: A systematic review on perceptual-motor calibration to changes in action capabilities Perceiving affordances: visual guidance of stair climbing Calibration Is...

A discussion with Jeff Fairbrother, Professor of Kinesiology, Recreation and Sport Studies at the University of Tennessee. We discuss the effect of repeated retention tests on learning, self controlled feedback and the effects of a coach overriding feedback choice, and focus of attention strategies.   More information about my guest: https://krss.utk.edu/faculty-staff/fairbrother-bio/ https://www....

A discussion with Paul Venner, Head of Athletic Performance at Dutch Baseball and Founder of Ultimateinstability. We discuss the important role of movement variability in training, using water to amplify information about movement, connecting skill acquisition and S&C through the lens of organismic constraints, and Paul’s presentation at the upcoming Florida Baseball Ranch Dutch Baseball Skill...

A look at the two main theoretical approaches (and associated methodologies) for understanding team coordination in sports: Shared knowledge/mental models (built on information processing) and shared affordances (built on ecological dynamics).   Articles: Shared Knowledge or Shared Affordances? Insights from an Ecological Dynamics Approach to Team Coordination in Sports Theoretical and methodical...

A look at some recent research on implicit learning. Is it really a better way to learn perceptual-motor skills? Does it give an athlete more cognitive resources to devote to strategy and decision making? Does it lead to better pressure proofing of performance?   Articles: Implicit learning increases shot accuracy of football players when making strategic decisions during penalty kicking Chunking,...

A discussion with Randy Sullivan, CEO and owner of Florida Baseball Ranch. We discuss how Randy’s approach to skill development and injury rehabilitation has evolved, the “how to” of self-organization and preview the upcoming The Florida Baseball Ranch & Dutch Baseball Skill Acquisition Summit.   Florida Baseball Ranch & Dutch Baseball Skill Acquisition Summit (Sept 8-9, 2018): www.florida...

A discussion with Israel Halperin, combat sports coach and researcher from Tel Aviv, Israel. We discuss the use of focus of attention cues, the role of athlete autonomy in training programs, how S&C and Skill Acq can better support each other, and how to improve the research methods we are using in motor learning.   More information about my guest: https://twitter.com/israel_halperin?lang=en h...

Are the complex actions involved in sport controlled online, by visual information that is currently available to a performer? Or do they rely on the use of predictive, internal models of the world? What are the implications of this for the way we coach athletes?   Articles: On-line and model-based approaches to the visual control of action http://perceptionaction.com/pitchtunnels/     More inform...

A discussion with Leonard Zaichkowsky & Daniel Peterson about their recently released book, The Playmaker’s Advantage: How to Raise Your Mental Game to the Next Level. What is “Athlete Cognition”? How can it be trained? How can coaches design practices to better mimic real-life competitive pressures? More information about my guests: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1501181866/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_dp_ms...

As a coach, what should you do when your athletes do not seem to be responding to a new practice activity? Are there things you can change? What should you look for? When should you abandon it altogether and move on to something else?   Links: Why the Constraints Led Approach is Not an All You Can Eat Buffett – Rob Gray on the Talent Equation Podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/user/9625186/rob-gray...