Embodiment of motor skills when observing expert and novice athletes

If people are shown a dynamic movie of an action such as kicking a soccer ball or hitting a tennis ball, they will respond to it faster if it requires the same effector. This standard congruency effect was reported to reverse when participants viewed static images of famous athletes not actually performing an action. It was suggested that the congruent response was inhibited because of a social contrast effect, based on an implied action, whereby responders viewed themselves as comparatively worse than the professional athlete. The present study recorded hand and foot responses when identifying static images of both famous and novice athletes in soccer and tennis. The action was either explicit or implied. In Experiment 1, a standard congruency effect was found for all images. In Experiment 2, when a response was based on the identity of the athlete rather than their expertise, the standard congruency effect was enhanced for images of novice athletes, but was eliminated for experts, suggesting a social contrast effect. Our study is the first to show that embodiment effects can be seen for implied and explicit action images of both novices and experts, and that static images are capable of eliciting priming effects associated with sport-relevant effector pairings.     

Perceiving patterns of play in dynamic sport tasks: investigating the essential information underlying skilled performance

The perceptual-cognitive information used to support pattern-recognition skill in soccer was examined. In experiment 1, skilled players were quicker and more accurate than less-skilled players at recognising familiar and unfamiliar soccer action sequences presented on film. In experiment 2, these action sequences were converted into point-light displays, with superficial display features removed and the positions of players and the relational information between them made more salient. Skilled players were more accurate than less-skilled players in recognising sequences presented in point-light form, implying that each pattern of play can be defined by the unique relations between players. In experiment 3, various offensive and defensive players were occluded for the duration of each trial in an attempt to identify the most important sources of information underpinning successful performance. A decrease in response accuracy was observed under occluded compared with non-occluded conditions and the expertise effect was no longer observed. The relational information between certain key players, team-mates and their defensive counterparts may provide the essential information for effective pattern-recognition skill in soccer. Structural feature analysis, temporal phase relations, and knowledge-based information are effectively integrated to facilitate pattern recognition in dynamic sport tasks.     

An evaluation of the minimal constraining information during observation for movement reproduction

An important question in the field of imitation is what information is used for movement reproduction. While it is argued that relative motion information is perceived and minimised, direct evidence is lacking. In this experiment relative motion was manipulated to convey a novel kicking action. Twenty-four adults were assigned to one of the three impoverished relative motion display groups showing only the TOE, FOOT or LEG. After practise with partial information, participants watched a full-body display and in a final condition performed the action with an additional context constraint (i.e., a ball). Movement kinematics were collected and difference scores between participants and the model were analysed. The groups did not differ in terms of knee-ankle coordination. For hip-knee, the TOE group performed more like the model than the FOOT and LEG group. When transferred to the full-body display, there were no significant improvements. End-point trajectory information can provide sufficient information to reproduce key characteristics of the movement form.     

Predicting performance times from deliberate practice hours for triathletes and swimmers: what, when, and where is practice important?

In Studies 1 and 2, the authors evaluated deliberate practice theory through analyses of the relationship between practice and performance for 2 populations of athletes: triathletes and swimmers, respectively. In Study 3, the authors obtained evaluations of practice from athletes' diaries. Across athletes, length of time involved in fitness activities was not related to performance. For the triathletes, a significant percentage of variance in performance was captured by practice. This was not so for sprint events for the swimmers, in which gender was a significant predictor. In the diaries, physical activities were perceived as enjoyable. In contrast to the results obtained from questionnaires, enjoyment did not covary with an activity's relevance to improving performance. Although these findings highlight the importance of sport-specific practice, the authors question a domain-independent account of expertise based on deliberate practice.     

The Relationship Between the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS) and Indicators of Functioning

We investigated the relationship between scores on the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS) and several indicators of functioning assessed in the national evaluation of the demonstration grants funded by the Center for Mental Health Services System of Care Initiative. The sample included 3187 youths, ranging in age from 4 to 23, with serious emotional disturbance (SED) who were evaluated at intake. At 6 month post-intake, 873 of these youths were re-evaluated. As predicted, higher CAFAS scores were associated with previous psychiatric hospitalization, more serious psychiatric diagnoses, and more restrictive living arrangements. Youths in residential inpatient settings were significantly more impaired than youths living in their own home or in regular foster care. Below average school performance, poor attendance, and contact with law enforcement personnel were also associated with greater impairment. Youth's total CAFAS scores decreased significantly from intake to 6 months. These results indicate that the CAFAS is a measure of functioning which has both statistical and clinical significance.     

Competence,guilt, and victimization: Sex differences in attribution of causality in television dramas

Sex differences in attribution of causality are investigated in three types of television programs: prime-time family, violent, and daytime serial shows. Both frequency and type of causal statements were studied, using DeCharm's conceptualization of personal causation as origin-like (internal to the self) or pawn-like (external to the self). There were striking sex differences in violent programs, with males modeling more origin behavior and females modeling more pawn behavior. In soap operas there were no sex differences, but both origin and pawn ideas were expressed in terms of personal responsibility, with fewer references to more competent origin behaviors such as goal setting, planned decision making, or self-confidence. These findings have implications for differential socialization of competent coping skills for males and females.The authors would like to express appreciation to Katie Henry and Jennifer Mardoyan, who assisted with this research.     

Attention focusing instructions and coordination bias: Implications for learning a novel bimanual task

Four groups learnt a novel bimanual coordination movement pattern under instructions designed to manipulate focus of attention. It was predicted that instructions directing attention onto the effects of the action would facilitate learning. Three groups received demonstrations of the required 90° relative phase movement. Two of the demonstration groups also received instruction directing attention either towards the feedback (EXTERNAL), or the relationship between their arm movements and the feedback (RELATION). The third group received no attention directing instructions (DEMO). A final group was only provided with goal relevant feedback (NO DEMO). A scanning task enabled coordination bias to be assessed pre-practice. This was conducted to ensure task novelty and assign participants equally across groups based on strength of bias to in- and/or anti-phase. Acquisition rate was slower for the DEMO only group, especially compared to the EXTERNAL group. Additionally, participants biased to in-phase (as compared to anti-phase) during the scanning trial also showed high error early in practice. These differences remained in retention. Irrespective of feedback condition the DEMO group evidenced the most error in retention. However, all groups were affected by the removal of on-line feedback, although the attention-directing instructions provided during practice somewhat decreased the negative effects associated with feedback removal. Overall, the in-phase-biased participants were most affected by withdrawal of feedback. It was concluded that movement demonstrations alone do not facilitate learning of a novel coordination task, unless additional goal-directed instruction is provided. Additionally, individual differences in coordination bias pre-practice can be used to predict learning rate and quality.