Rob Gray

The Perception & Action Podcast

Science EN ↓ 584 episodes

Exploration of how psychological research can be applied to improving performance, accelerating skill acquisition and designing new technologies in sports and other high performance domains. Hosted by Rob Gray, professor of Human Systems Engineering at Arizona State University, the podcast will review basic concepts and discuss the latest research in these areas.

Author

Rob Gray

Category

Science

Podcast website

perceptionaction.com

Latest episode

Jul 7, 2026

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Episodes

379 – Journal Club #36: Making Isolated, At-Home Training More Representative 07.12.2021

How can we make isolated, at home sports training more representative? A discussion with Ryan and Brett from SwitchedOn Training.   Links: https://www.switchedontrainingapp.com/   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   Support the podca...

378 – Achieving Balance (and Integration?) in Skill Acquisition Research & Theory 30.11.2021

A few updates on the first month of my book release. And how do we achieve balance in looking at the different theories of skill acquisition? Is it possible to integrate the different approaches?   Articles: Two visual systems and two theories of perception: An attempt to reconcile the constructivist and ecological approaches Information Processing and Constraints-based Views of Skill Acquisition:...

377 – Nonlinear Pedagogy Revisited 23.11.2021

What exactly are Linear and Nonlinear Pedagogy? How does Nonlinear Pedagogy relate to ecological dynamics?   Articles: The Role of Nonlinear Pedagogy in Supporting the Design of Modified Games in Junior Sports   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 A...

376 – Why Ecological PLUS Dynamics? What is Metastable Attunement? 16.11.2021

Why do we need both ecological psychology and behavioral dynamics to understand skilled behavior? What is metastable attunement and how does it capture this combination?   Articles: Metastable attunement and real‑life skilled behavior Interpersonal Distance Regulates Functional Grouping Tendencies of Agents in Team Sports Desideratum for GUT: A functional semantics for sport   More information: ht...

375 – Journal Club #35: Pursuing Further Education in Skill Acquisition for Coaches & Practitioners 09.11.2021

What are the options for furthering your education in skill acquisition if you are a coach or practitioner. What should you be looking for in a program and advisor?   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   Support the podcast and receiv...

374 – My Book is Here! How We Learn to Move: A Revolution in the Way We Coach & Practice Sports Skills 02.11.2021

A chapter-by-chapter preview of my newly released book.   Links: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09K1T1TG4 https://perceptionaction.com/book/   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   Support the podcast and receive bonus content   Cr...

373 – Journal Club #34: An Ecological Approach to the Use of Film/Video Analysis in Coaching 26.10.2021

A discussion about how film and video can be used identify information-movement laws and affordances, and be used to guide an athlete's exploration of perceptual-motor space.   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   Support the podcast...

372 – An Ecological Approach to Basketball Practice Design and Coaching 19.10.2021

What does the research say about the role of movement variability in basketball? How do new players solve the degrees of freedom problem? How can we use the CLA to encourage the development of good variability and motor synergies in shooting?     More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My ASU Web page Podcast Facebook page (videos, pics, etc)   Su...

371 – Interview with Andrew Wilson, The Ecological Learning Lab 12.10.2021

My interview with Andrew Wilson from Leeds Beckett discussing this exciting new project he is coordinating with Southampton Football Academy: The Ecological Learning Lab. What is it all about and how can you get involved?   Contact info: A.D.Wilson@leedsbeckett.ac.uk https://twitter.com/PsychScientists   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My...

370 - Analogy Instructions & Movement Coordination, Skill Acquisition Summit Preview 05.10.2021

How do analogy instructions effect movement coordination? Is it better to use a separate analogy for each body part or an integrated one for the whole movement? Plus, a preview of the upcoming Skill Acquisition Summit.   Article: Effects of different types of analogy instruction on the performance and inter-joint coordination of novice darts learners   Summit: https://floridabaseballarmory.com/sum...

369 – Journal Club #33: An Ecological Approach to Martial Arts and MMA 28.09.2021

How can we apply an ecological approach to training martial arts and MMA? How can we redesign practice to make it more alive and representative? A discussion with Rafe Kelley, Shawn Myszka, Josh Peacock and Scott Sievewright.     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/Ap...

368 – Article Review: Do self-organization training methods better promote creativity? 21.09.2021

How does the ecological approach to skill acquisition change the way we think about movement creativity? How can we promote it through practice design?   Article: The effects of linear, nonlinear, and differential motor learning methods on the emergence of creative action in individual soccer players   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My AS...

367 – Journal Club #32: Exploring Ecological Dynamics 14.09.2021

How does cognition fit into an ecological approach? Was is the difference between technique, skill and action capacity? How should rule based vs physical constraints be used in practice? An emergent discussion on some topics related to applying an ecological dynamics approach in coaching   https://youtu.be/Bqicr_vA5bU   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of...

366 – Article Review: Balancing the Demands of Learning and Performance in Sports 07.09.2021

When faced with changing constraints how do performers balance the competing demands of exploring solution space for a new movement solution and maintaining short-term performance success?   Article: Exploration evoked by the environment is balanced by the need to perform in cricket spin bowling   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My ASU Web...

365 – Article Review: Does More Representative Practice Design Lead to Better Transfer of Training? 31.08.2021

Does more representative design lead to better transfer of training? Does it make athlete more adaptable and strategic in their play? What is the relationship between the CLA and representative design?   Articles: Enhancing skill transfer in tennis using representative learning design   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My ASU Web page Podca...

364 – Article Review: The Role of Movement Variability in Movement Accuracy 24.08.2021

How do skilled performers achieve both speed and accuracy? Is it by reducing variability in movement parameters (i.e., repeatability)? Or is by allowing movement parameters to co-vary and compensate for each other (i.e., motor synergies)?   Articles: Control of Accuracy during Movements of High Speed: Implications from Baseball Pitching   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research...

363 – Article Review: Choosing the Optimal Task Difficulty for Training 17.08.2021

How well calibrated is our perception of task difficulty? To what degree can athletes assess whether the difficulty of a practice task is optimal for motor learning?   Articles: Choosing an optimal motor-task difficulty is not trivial: The influence of age and expertise Metacognition in motor learning   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My A...

362 – Smart Perceptual Mechanisms & Training an Athlete to "See Through the Matrix" 10.08.2021

What is a "smart" perceptual mechanism? How does it differ from the rote mechanisms used in information processing theory, where simple features are used for computation and processing? Are we missing opportunities to train the development of these smart perceptual mechanism in sports, forcing an athlete to see in terms of simple variables and categories, when we could be training them to pick up...

361 – Self Organization & Self-Regulation in Skill Acquisition: Clarifying Some Confusions 03.08.2021

What is the role of the "self" in self organization? How does its pre-loaded conception lead to some misunderstanding about self-organization and misapplication of methods designed to promote it, like the CLA? How does it relate to self-regulation in skill acquisition? An attempt at some clarification. Articles: Self-organisation and constraints in sports performance Self-regulated learning strate...

360 – Biotensegrity 27.07.2021

What is biotensegrity? How can it be used to understand movement coordination and preparation on an individual level and team coordination?  How does it relate to Bernstein's concepts of motor synergies and muscle tone?   Articles: The Medium of Haptic Perception: A Tensegrity Hypothesis Is Tensegrity the Functional Architecture of the Equilibrium Point Hypothesis? Linking Tensegrity to Sports Tea...

359 – Habit vs Skill II: Being Fast and Adaptable 20.07.2021

Conscious control seems to be far too slow to account for skilled performance in sports while using automatic habits seems not to be smart enough to allow for adaptation to the ever-changing constraints an athlete faces. How can we be both adaptable and fast? Does adaptability require mental representation? Articles: Neither mindful nor mindless, but minded: habits, ecological psychology, and skil...

358 - Article Review: Interoceptive Attention & Adaptation to Individual Constraints 06.07.2021

What is interoceptive attention and how might it help an performer adapt to changes in individual constraints like fatigue and anxiety? Article: What Makes an Elite Shooter and Archer? The Critical Role of Interoceptive Attention   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/...

357 - Article Review: Does the structure and amount of variability in practice matter? 29.06.2021

Does the amount of and structure of variability matter when training a new learner? Are there benefits to using Differential Learning over a simple serial, variable practice schedule? Article: Null Effects of Different Amounts of Task Variation in Both Contextual Interference and Differential Learning Paradigms   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my arti...

356 – Article Review: How do Changes in Informational Constraints Influence Movement Variability? 15.06.2021

How do changes in the perceptual information available alter movement variability? If we constrain vision with occluding glasses or constrain audition with headphones how do performers adapt their movements? How does this depend on skill level?   Article: The role of variability in the control of the basketball dribble under different perceptual setups   More information: http://perceptionaction.c...

355 – Article Review: How Does Movement Coordination Change with Increased Effort? 08.06.2021

How does the constraint of effort (for example, throwing at 80% of your max vs 100%) change the coordination of degrees of freedom in movement? Do movements become mostly invariant across individuals at max effort or is there still a role for variability?   Article: Effort‑dependent effects on uniform and diverse muscle activity features in skilled pitching   More information: http://perceptionact...

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