Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-x24gv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-01T12:50:10.263Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
This chapter is part of a book that is no longer available to purchase from Cambridge Core

29 - Perceptual-Motor Expertise

from PART V.B - ARTS, SPORTS, & MOTOR SKILLS

By
David A. Rosenbaum ,
Jason S. Augustyn ,
Rajal G. Cohen  and
Steven A. Jax
Edited by
K. Anders Ericsson ,
Neil Charness ,
Paul J. Feltovich  and
Robert R. Hoffman
David A. Rosenbaum
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University
Jason S. Augustyn
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Virginia
Rajal G. Cohen
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University
Steven A. Jax
Affiliation:
Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute
K. Anders Ericsson
Affiliation:
Florida State University
Neil Charness
Affiliation:
Florida State University
Paul J. Feltovich
Affiliation:
University of West Florida
Robert R. Hoffman
Affiliation:
University of West Florida
Get access

Summary

Introduction

If we consider perceptual-motor expertise as a subset of expertise in general, two questions immediately come to mind: (1) What can a focus on expertise in general contribute to the study of perceptual-motor expertise in particular, and (2) What can a focus on perceptual-motor skill contribute to the study of expertise more broadly? Excellent reviews have already addressed the first question (Starkes & Allard, 1993; Starkes & Ericsson, 2003). Less has been done in connection with the second question, which will be the focus of our presentation. (See also Proctor and Vu, Chapter 15.)

Our primary thesis is that the study of perceptual-motor expertise may have useful lessons for the study of expertise in general. The basis for this suggestion is that the study of perceptual-motor skill acquisition has witnessed rapid advances with different methodologies in the past several years. At the same time, it has seen intense debate about which of these methodologies is most appropriate. Describing this debate may be informative for researchers who study expertise in more complex tasks because it is reasonable to think that the debate will come knocking at their doors before long.

The methods pursued in the study of perceptual-motor expertise are associated with two perspectives: (1) Cognitive science (including cognitive psychology and neuroscience); and (2) Ecological psychology and dynamical systems analysis. Each of these perspectives has characteristic claims and techniques which compete for attention and support.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance , pp. 505 - 520
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2006

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adolph, K. E. (1997). Learning in the development of infant locomotion. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 62, No. 3.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Allport, D. A., Antonis, B., & Reynolds, P. (1972). On the division of attention: A disproof of the single channel hypothesis. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 24, 225–235.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Arutyunyan, G. H., Gurfinkel, V. S., & Mirskii, M. L. (1968). Investigation of aiming at a target. Biophysics, 13, 536–538.Google Scholar
Beek, P. J., & Turvey, M. T. (1992). Temporal patterning in cascade juggling. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 18 (4), 934–947.Google ScholarPubMed
Beilock, S. L., Carr, T. H., MacMahon, C., & Starkes, J. L. (2002). When paying attention becomes counterproductive: Impact of divided versus skill-focused attention on novice and experienced performance of sensorimotor skills. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 8, 6–16.Google ScholarPubMed
Beilock, S. L., Wierenga, S. A., & Carr, T. H. (2002). Expertise, attention, and memory in sensorimotor skill execution: Impact of novel task constraints on dual-task performance and episodic memory. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology: Section A, 55, 1211–1240.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bernstein, N. (1967). The coordination and regulation of movements. London: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Blakemore, S. J., Wolpert, D. M., & Frith, C. D. (1998). Central cancellation of self-produced tickle sensation. Nature Neuroscience, 1, 635–640.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bracke-Tolkmitt, R., Linden, A., Canavan, A. G. M., & Diener, H. C. (1989). The cerebellum contributes to mental skills. Behavioral Neuroscience, 103, 442–446.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brashers-Krug, T., Shadmehr, R., & Bizzi, E. (1996). Consolidation in human motor memory. Nature, 382, 252–255.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bryan, W. L., & Harter, N. (1897). Studies in the physiology and psychology of the telegraphic language. Psychological Review, 4, 27–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bryan, W. L., & Harter, N. (1899). Studies on the telegraphic language. Psychological Review, 6, 345–378.Google Scholar
Calvin, S., Milliex, L, Coyle, T., & Temprado, J. J. (2004). Stabilization and destabilization of perception-action patterns influence the self-organized recruitment of degrees of freedom. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 30, 1032–1042.Google ScholarPubMed
Carello, C., & Turvey, M. T. (2004). Physics and psychology of the muscle sense. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 13, 25–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chase, W. G., & Ericsson, K. A. (1981). Skilled memory. In Anderson, J. R. (Ed.), Cognitive skills and their acquisition (pp. 141–189). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Cohen, A., Ivry, R. I., & Keele, S. W. (1990). Attention and structure in sequence learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 16, 17–30.Google Scholar
Cohen, R. G., & Rosenbaum, D. A. (2004). Where objects are grasped reveals how grasps are planned: Generation and recall of motor plans. Experimental Brain Research, 157, 486–495.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conditt, M. A., Gandolfo, F., & Mussa-Ivaldi, F. A. (1997). The motor system does not learn the dynamics of the arm by rote memorization of past experience. Journal of Neurophysiology, 78, 554–560.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooper, W. E. (Ed.). (1983). Cognitive aspects of skilled typewriting. New York: Springer-Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooper, W. E., Paccia-Cooper, J. (1980). Syntax and speech. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Courchesne, E., & Allen, G. (1997). Prediction and preparation fundamental functions of the cerebellum. Learning and Memory, 4, 1–35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dagenbach, D., & Carr, T. H. (Eds.). (1994). Inhibitory processes in attention, memory, and language. San Diego: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Dell, G. S. (1986). A spreading activation theory of retrieval in sentence production. Psychological Review, 93, 283–321.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Desmond, J. E., Gabrielli, J. D., Wagner, A. D., Binier, B. L., & Glover, G. H. (1997). Lobular patterns of cerebellar activation of verbal working-memory and finger-tapping tasks as revealed by functional MRI. Journal of Neuroscience, 17, 9675–9685.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dizio, P., & Lackner, J. R. (1995). Motor adaptation to coriolis force perturbations of reaching movements: Endpoint but not trajectory adaptation transfers to the nonexposed arm. Journal of Neurophysiology, 74, 1787–1792.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elbert, T., Pantev, C., Weinbruch, C., Rockstroh, B., & Taub, E. (1995). Increased cortical representation of the fingers of the left hand. Science, 270, 305–307.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fajen, B. R., & Warren, W. H. (2003). Behavioral dynamics of steering, obstacle avoidance, and route selection. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 29, 343–362.Google ScholarPubMed
Fiez, J. A. (1996). Cerebellar contributions to cognition. Neuron, 16, 13–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fitts, P. M., & Posner, M. I. (1967). Human performance. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Fromkin, V. A. (Ed.). (1980). Errors in linguistic performance. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Gao, J. H., Parsons, L. M., Bower, J. M., & Xiong, J. (1996). Cerebellum implicated in sensory acquisition and discrimination rather than motor control. Science, 272, 545–547.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gauthier, I., Skudlarski, P., Gore, J. C., & Anderson, A. W. (2000). Expertise for cars and birds recruit brain areas involved in face recognition. Nature Neuroscience, 3, 191–197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibson, E. J., & Walk, R. D. (1960). The “visual cliff.” Scientific American, 202, 63–71.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gibson, J. J. (1950). Perception of the visual world. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.Google Scholar
Gibson, J. J. (1966). The senses considered as perceptual systems. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.Google Scholar
Gibson, J. J. (1979). The ecological approach to visual perception. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.Google Scholar
Glenberg, A. M. (1997). What memory is for. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 20, 1–55.Google ScholarPubMed
Goldfield, E. C., Kay, B. A., & Warren, W. H. (1993). Infant bouncing: The assembly and tuning of action systems. Child Development, 64, 1128–1142.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goodbody, S. J., & Wolpert, D. M. (1998). Temporal and amplitude generalization in motor learning. Journal of Neurophysiology, 79, 1825–1838.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grudin, J. G. (1983). Error patterns in novice and skilled typists. In Cooper, W. E. (Ed.), Cognitive aspects of skilled typewriting (pp. 121–143). New York: Springer-Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hebb, D. O. (1949). The organization of behavior: A neuropsychological theory. New York: John Wiley.Google Scholar
Helmholtz, H. von (1911). Treatise on physiological optics. (Southall, J. P., Ed. & Trans.) (3rd ed., Vols. 2 & 3). Rochester, NY: Optical Society of America.Google Scholar
Holmes, G. (1939). The cerebellum of man. Brain, 62, 1–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hommel, B., Musseler, J., Aschersleben, G., & Prinz, W. (2001). The theory of event coding (TEC): A framework for perception and action planning. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 24, 849–937.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ivry, R. B., & Keele, S. W. (1989). Timing functions of the cerebellum. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 1, 136–152.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jeannerod, M. (1988). The neural and behavioral organization of goal-directed movements. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Jenkins, I., Brooks, D., Nixon, P., Frackowiack, R., & Passignham, R. (1994). Motor sequence learning: A study with positron emission tomography. Journal of Neuroscience, 14, 3775–3790.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kaas, J. H., Merzenich, M. M., & Killackey, H. P. (1983). The reorganization of somatosensory cortex following peripheral nerve damage in adult and developing mammals. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 6, 325–356.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kandel, E. R. (1981). Nerve cells and behavior. In Kandel, E. R. & Schwartz, J. H. (Eds.), Principles of neural science (pp. 14–23). New York: Elsevier/North-Holland.Google Scholar
Kerr, B. A. & Langgolf, G. (1977). The speed of aiming moveents. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 29, 475–481.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klapp, S. T. (1977). Reaction time analysis of programmed control. Exercise and sport sciences reviews, 5, 231–253.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Koh, K., & Meyer, D. E. (1991). Induction of continuous stimulus-response associations for perceptual-motor performance. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 17, 811–836.Google Scholar
Körding, K. P., & Wolpert, D. M. (2004). Bayesian integration in sensorimotor learning. Nature, 437, 244–247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kroll, J. F., & Potter, M. C. (1984). Recognizing words, pictures, and concepts: A comparison of lexical, object, and reality decisions. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 23, 39–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Landauer, T. K., & Bjork, R. A. (1978). Optimal rehearsal patterns and name learning. In Gruneberg, M. M., Morris, P. E., & Sykes, R. N. (Eds.), Practical aspects of memory (pp. 625–632). London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Lashley, K. S. (1951). The problem of serial order in behavior. In Jeffress, L. A. (Ed.), Cerebral mechanisms in behavior (pp. 112–131). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Leavitt, J. (1979). Cognitive demands of skating and stick handling in ice hockey. Canadian Journal of Applied Sport Sciences, 4, 46–55.Google Scholar
Leiner, H. C., Leiner, A. L., & Dow, R. S. (1995). The underestimated cerebellum. Human Brain Mapping, 2, 244–254.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewandowsky, S., Kalish, M., & Ngang, S. K. (2002). Simplified learning in complex situations: Knowledge partitioning in function learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 131, 163–193.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Logan, G. D. (1988). Toward an instance theory of automatization. Psychological Review, 95, 492–527.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Logan, G. D. (2002). An instance theory of attention and memory. Psychological Review, 109, 376–400.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Logothetis, N. K., & Pauls, J. (1995). Psychophysical and physiological evidence for viewer-centered object representations in the primate. Cerebral Cortex, 5, 270–288.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lynch, G., & Baudry, M. (1984). The biochemistry of memory: A new and specific hypothesis. Science, 224, 1057–1063.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maddox, M. D., Wulf, G., & Wright, D. L. (1999). The effect of an internal vs. external focus of attention on the learning of a tennis stroke. Journal of Exercise Psychology, 21, S78.Google Scholar
Magill, R. A., & Hall, K. G. (1990). A review of the contextual interference effect in motor skill acquisition. Human Movement Science, 9, 241–289.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Melton, A. W. (1970). The situation with respect to the spacing of repetitions and memory. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 9, 596–606.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meyer, D. E., Abrams, R. A., Kornblum, S., Wright, C. E., & Smith, J. E. K. (1988). Optimality in human motor performance: Ideal control of rapid aimed movements. Psychological Review, 95, 340–370.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miller, G. A. (1956). The magical number seven plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological Review, 63, 81–97.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Newell, A. M., & Rosenbloom, P. S. (1981). Mechanisms of skill acquisition and the law of practice. In Anderson, J. R. (Ed.), Cognitive skills and their acquisition (pp. 1–55). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Newell, K. M., Liu, Y- T., & Mayer-Kress, G. (2001). Time scales in motor learning and development. Psychological Review, 108, 57–82.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nissen, M. J., & Bullemer, P. (1987). Attentional requirements of learning: Evidence from performance measures. Cognitive Psychology, 19, 1–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norman, D. A. (1981). Categorization of action slips. Psychological Review, 88, 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petersen, S. E., Fox, P. T., Posner, M. I., Mintun, M., & Raichle, M. E. (1989). Positron emission tomographic studies of the processing of single words. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 1, 153–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Povel, D- J., & Collard, R. (1982). Structural factors in patterned finger tapping. Acta Psychologica, 52, 107–124.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Proffitt, D. R., Bhalla, M., Gossweiler, R., & Midgett, K. (1995). Perceiving geographical slant. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 2, 409–428.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Purves, D., & Lott, R. B. (2003). Why we see what we do: An empirical theory of vision. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates.Google Scholar
Rea, C. P., & Modigliani, V. (1985). The effect of expanded versus massed practice on the retention of multiplication facts and spelling lists. Human Learning, 4, 11–18.Google Scholar
Reason, J. (1990). Human error. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Restle, F. (1970). Theory of serial pattern learning: Structural trees. Psychological Review, 77, 481–495.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Riley, M. A., Stoffregen, T. A., Grocki, M. J., & Turvey, M. T. (1999). Postural stabilization for the control of touching. Human Movement Science, 18, 795–817.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenbaum, D. A. (1987). Successive approximations to a model of human motor programming. In Bower, G. H. (Ed.) Psychology of learning and motivation, Vol. 21 (pp. 153–182). Orlando, FL: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Rosenbaum, D. A. (1998). Is dynamical systems modeling just curve fitting? Motor Control, 2, 101–104.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rosenbaum, D. A., Carlson, R. A. & Gilmore, R. O. (2001). Acquisition of intellectual and perceptual-motor skills. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 453–470.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rosenbaum, D. A., Kenny, S., & Derr, M. A. (1983). Hierarchical control of rapid movement sequences. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 9, 86–102.Google ScholarPubMed
Rosenbaum, D. A., Meulenbroek, R. G., Vaughan, J., & Jansen, C. (2001). Posture-based motion planning: Applications to grasping. Psychological Review, 108, 709–734.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sainburg, R. L. (2002). Evidence for a dynamic dominance hypothesis of handedness. Experimental Brain Research, 142, 241–258.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schmidt, R. A., & Bjork, R. A. (1992). New conceptualizations of practice: Common principles in three paradigms suggest new concepts for training. Psychological Science, 3, 207–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmidt, R. A. & Lee, T. D. (1999). Motor control and learning – A behavioral emphasis (3rd Ed.). Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics.Google Scholar
Schneider, W., & Chien, J. M. (2003). Controlled & automatic processing: Behavior, theory, and biological mechanisms. Cognitive Science, 27, 525–559.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shannon, C., & Weaver, W. (1949). The mathematical theory of communication. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.Google Scholar
Shea, J. B., & Morgan, R. L. (1979). Contextual interference effects on acquisition, retention, and transfer of a motor skill. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 5, 179–187.Google Scholar
Shiffrin, R. M., & Schneider, W. (1977). Controlled and automatic human information processing. II. Perceptual learning, automatic attending, and a general theory. Psychological Review, 84 (2), 127–190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simon, H. A. (1972). Complexity and the representation of patterned sequences of symbols. Psychological Review, 79, 369–382.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sperling, G. A. (1960). The information available in brief visual presentation. Psychological Monographs, 74, Whole No. 498.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Starkes, J. L. & Allard, F. (Eds.). (1993). Cognitive issues in motor expertise. Amsterdam: North-Holland.Google Scholar
Starkes, J. L., & Ericsson, K. A. (Eds.). (2003). Expert peformance in sports: Advances in research on sport expertise. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.Google Scholar
Sternad, D., Duarte, M., Katsumata, H., & Schaal, S. (2001). Bouncing a ball: Tuning into dynamic stability. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 27, 1163–1184.Google ScholarPubMed
Turvey, M. T. (1990). Coordination. American Psychologist, 45, 8, 938–953.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vereijken, B., Whiting, H. T. A., & Beek, P. J. (1992). A dynamic-systems approach to skill acquisition. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A: Human Experimental Psychology, 45, 323–344.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Volkmann, F. C., Riggs, L. A., & Moore, R. K. (1980). Eyeblinks and visual suppression. Science, 207, 900–902.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
von Holst, E., & Mittelstaedt, H. (1950). Das Reafferenzprinzip. Die Naturwissenschaften, 37, 464–474. (English translation In Dodwell, P. C. [Ed.], [1980], Perceptual processing: Stimulus equivalence and pattern recognition. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.)Google Scholar
Worringham, C. J. (1993). Predicting motor performance from variability measures. In Newell, K. M. & Corcos, D. M. (Eds.), Variability and motor control (pp. 53–63). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.Google Scholar
Wulf, G., Lauterbach, B., & Toole, T. (1999). Learning advantages of an external focus of attention in golf. Research Quarterly for Exercise & Sport, 70, 120–126.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wulf, G., & Prinz, W. (2001). Directing attention to movement effects enhances learning: A review. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 8 (4), 648–660.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zanone, P. G., & Kelso, J. A. S. (1997). Coordination dynamics of learning and transfer: Collective and component levels. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception And Performance, 23, 1454–1480.Google ScholarPubMed

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×