The Perception & Action Podcast

How exactly is peripheral vision used in sports? What are the costs and benefits of different gaze strategies?  A look at gaze anchors and visual pivot points.   Articles: What do we see out of the corner of our eye? The role of visual pivots and gaze anchors in sport Peripheral Vision in Martial Arts Experts: The Cost-Dependent Anchoring of Gaze   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My...

Articles: Taekwondo Fighting in Training Does Not Simulate the Affective and Cognitive Demands of Competition: Implications for Behavior and Transfer Batting Practice Is Probably a Waste of Everyone's Time   https://www.kinovea.org/   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My ASU Web page Podcast Facebook page (videos, pics, etc)   Subscribe in i...

A look at a recent study on learning new gait patterns. Which is better: practicing the criterion task the whole time, progression from easier to difficult or random practice?   Articles: Learning new gait patterns is enhanced by specificity of training rather than progression of task difficulty   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My ASU Web...

A look at the equilibrium point hypothesis of motor control. How can movements be controlled both actively (voluntarily) and re-actively (involuntarily)?   Articles: Evolution of Motor Control: From Reflexes and Motor Programs to the Equilibrium-Point Hypothesis The Equilibrium-Point Hypothesis – Past, Present and Future   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs...

A look at some recent motor learning neuroscience articles. Can we achieve gray matter plasticity through motor learning? How are motor synergies reflected in brain activity? What are the neural mechanisms underlying the benefits of self-controlled feedback?   Articles: Motor repertoire and gray matter plasticity: Is there a link? The human sensorimotor cortex fosters muscle synergies through cort...

A look at the role of motor noise in motor learning? How to we minimize the effects of noise on motor control? Do we choose movement solutions that are less noisy?   Articles: Using noise to shape motor learning Motor Learning Is Optimally Tuned to the Properties of Motor Noise   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My ASU Web page Podcast Face...

A look at the 1995 article by Jane Clark which provides an excellent overview of the dynamical systems approach to skill acquisition.   Articles: On Becoming Skillful: Patterns & Constraints   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My ASU Web page Podcast Facebook page (videos, pics, etc)   Subscribe in iOS/Apple Subscribe in Anroid/Google   Supp...

A look at a couple new studies examining the CLA to skill acquisition. How does the presence of an opponent influence the kinematics of a tennis serve? Can we correct technical errors without using explicit verbal instruction?   Articles: Effect of environmental constraints on multisegment coordination patterns during the tennis service in expert performers Constraints-led approach to coaching the...

A look at 3 recent studies evaluating the effects of different types of instruction (explicit, analogy and focus of attention) on performance, movement kinematics and motor learning.   Articles: The acute effects of analogy and explicit instruction on movement and performance The effects of instructional cues on performance and mechanics during a gross motor movement Changing one's focus of attent...

A look at a couple of recent motor learning articles. Does incidental training lead to protection against choking under pressure? How do we acquire a new movement skill? Do we initially explore the solution space randomly (what has been called motor babbling) or do we use goal-related feedback right from the start (goal babbling)?   Articles: Limiting motor skill knowledge via incidental training...

What are the limitations of current perceptual-cognitive and brain training technologies that use an isolated, process driven approach to improve perception and decision making in athletes? How can these be improved by following the principles of Ecological Dynamics? How can VR training be better used to allow an athlete to explore the affordance landscape and make context-dependent decisions?   A...

A look at Naturalistic and Recognition-Primed Decision Making. How do we make quick and effective decisions when faced with complex, time pressured situations? How do we bring our previous experience to bear in these situations? Can this approach be applied to sports?   Articles: Naturalistic Decision Making A Recognition Primed Decision (RPD) Model of Rapid Decision Making Recognition Within the...

Is the role of affordance perception just action selection? Or does it also play a role in action control? What does it mean to "know one's limits"?   Articles: Affordance-Based Control of Visually Guided Action Controlling speed and direction during interception: an affordance-based approach   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My ASU Web pa...

A look at the role of demonstration and imitation in motor learning. What is rate enhancer in skill acquisition? Articles: Demonstration as a rate enhancer to changes in coordination during early skill acquisition Concurrent Imitative Movement During Action Observation Facilitates Accuracy of Outcome Prediction in Less-Skilled Performers More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research G...

Is the common finding that expert athletes are better at using advance cues to anticipate their opponent's actions evidence that they are using a predictive, internal model for action control? Or can this be reconciled with the ecological approach?   Articles: Special Issue of IJSP: Ventral and dorsal contribution to visual anticipation in fast ball sports   More information: http://perceptionacti...

Can having a performer amplify or exaggerate movement error be an effective way to correct it? Is error amplification a more effective method than corrective instruction?     Articles: "Amplification of Error": A Rapidly Effective Method for Motor Performance Improvement Correction of a Technical Error in the Golf Swing: Error Amplification Versus Direct Instruction The effects of two different co...

A look at some different ways we can cue and provide feedback to a performer including bandwidth, temporal-comparative and translational feedback and rhythm-based cues.     Articles: Effect of bandwidth knowledge of results on movement consistency Applying Bandwidth Feedback Scheduling to a Golf Shot Temporal-Comparative Feedback Facilitates Golf Putting Development of a rhythmic auditory biofeedb...

A look at the phenomenon of The Yips. What exactly is it? How does it differ from choking under pressure? What effects does it have on movement coordination? How can it be treated?     Articles: The yips in sport: A systematic review Flikikammo: When Gymnasts Lose Previously Automatic Backward Moving Skills Yips and Other Movement Disorders in Golfers Performance blocks in sport: Recommendations f...

A panel discussion about applying different theoretical approaches to coaching, fence sitting, and "it depends" on the Talent Equation podcast hosted and produced by Stuart Armstrong:   https://www.spreaker.com/user/9625186/podcast-panel?autoplay=1     More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My ASU Web page Podcast Facebook page (videos, pics, etc...

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...