Classifying skills on continua

Few skills sit at a pure extreme, so we place them on a continuum — a sliding scale between two ends. Two of the most important:

• Open ↔ closed: an open skill is affected by a changing environment and is mostly externally paced (a pass in rugby); a closed skill happens in a stable, predictable setting (a free throw, a golf swing).
• Self-paced ↔ externally-paced: the performer controls the timing and rate of a self-paced skill (a javelin throw); the environment or an opponent dictates an externally-paced skill (returning a serve).

Why a continuum? A skill is rarely 100% open or closed — a cricket shot is largely open, but the same drill in the nets becomes more closed. Judge each skill by where it mostly sits.

More classification continua

• Gross ↔ fine: gross skills use large muscle groups (a rugby tackle); fine skills use small, precise movements (a dart throw, a snooker cue action).
• Discrete ↔ serial ↔ continuous: a discrete skill has a clear start and end (a penalty kick); a serial skill links several discrete actions in order (a triple jump); a continuous skill has no obvious end — the end of one cycle is the start of the next (cycling, swimming).
• High ↔ low organisation: a highly organised skill cannot easily be broken into parts (a golf swing); a low-organisation skill separates cleanly into sub-routines (a swimming stroke).

Practice link: organisation guides your method — whole practice suits highly organised skills, whereas part practice suits low-organisation skills that split into sub-routines.

Classify the skill

Information processing models

A performer works like a system: take in information, decide, act, and check the result. Two named models describe this:

• Whiting's model — information from the display enters the receptor systems, passes to a perceptual mechanism, then a translatory mechanism that turns the decision into an action plan, then the effector mechanism and the muscular system (output), with feedback returning to the display.
• Welford's model — input → sensory / perceptual mechanism → decision-making mechanism → effector mechanism → output, with feedback looping back to the input.

Reaction, movement & response time

Three timings describe how quickly a performer answers a stimulus:

• Reaction time — from the onset of the stimulus to the start of the movement (no movement yet, just processing).
• Movement time — from the start of the movement to its completion.
• Response time — the whole thing, from stimulus to completed movement.

Watch the definitions: reaction time contains no movement. As soon as the performer begins to move, movement time has started.

Your turn — response time

Hick's law

Hick's law (Hick, 1952) states that choice reaction time increases as the number of stimulus–response choices increases. More alternatives means more information to process, so the performer is slower to react.

• The relationship is logarithmic: reaction time rises with the log of the number of choices, so each added option adds a little less delay than the last.
• Sporting use: a rugby player who can threaten several attacking options gives the defender more choices, lengthening their reaction time — a "dummy" exploits this.

Key idea: reducing an opponent's options speeds their reaction; increasing them slows it. This is why disguise and variety are so valuable.

Applying Hick's law

Psychological refractory period

The brain behaves as a single channel — it can only fully process one stimulus at a time (Welford's single-channel hypothesis). If a second stimulus arrives before the first has been dealt with, the response to it is delayed.

This delay is the psychological refractory period (PRP). A well-timed dummy works because of it: the first fake stimulus is still being processed when the real move comes, so the defender is caught flat-footed.

Link: the single-channel hypothesis explains why the PRP happens — a second signal has to wait for the channel to clear before it can be processed.

Your turn — response time after a dummy

The multi-store memory model

Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) described memory as three linked stores:

• Sensory register — briefly holds everything the senses detect (well under a second). Selective attention keeps the relevant information and lets the rest fade.
• Short-term memory (STM) — the working store: limited capacity (about 5–9 items) and short duration (up to ~30 seconds) unless information is rehearsed.
• Long-term memory (LTM) — essentially unlimited capacity and duration; well-rehearsed motor programmes are stored here for later retrieval.

Coaching link: to move a skill from STM to LTM, use rehearsal, chunking, meaningful links and clear demonstrations, so the motor programme is stored and can be recalled automatically.

Stages of learning — Fitts & Posner

Fitts and Posner (1967) proposed that learners pass through three stages:

• Cognitive — the beginner forms a mental picture of the skill, makes many errors, and relies on demonstrations and lots of feedback (knowledge of results).
• Associative — the "practice" stage; movements become smoother and more consistent, errors reduce, and the learner starts to use their own intrinsic feedback.
• Autonomous — the skill is automatic, needs little conscious thought, and attention can shift to tactics; feedback becomes fine-tuning (knowledge of performance).

Not everyone reaches autonomous: it requires large amounts of correct, well-structured practice. Poor practice can leave a performer stuck in the associative stage.

Which stage of learning?

Operant conditioning — Skinner & Thorndike

Operant conditioning (Skinner) shapes behaviour through its consequences: reinforce a desired response and it is more likely to be repeated, strengthening the stimulus–response (S–R) bond.

• Positive reinforcement — add a pleasant stimulus (praise) after a good response.
• Negative reinforcement — remove an unpleasant stimulus once the response improves.
• Punishment — an unpleasant consequence to weaken an unwanted response.

Thorndike underpinned this with his laws and trial-and-error / connectionism: the law of effect (responses with satisfying outcomes are stamped in), the law of exercise (repetition strengthens the S–R bond) and the law of readiness (the performer must be physically and mentally ready to learn).

Observational & insight learning

Observational learning (Bandura) says we learn by watching and copying a model. For the demonstration to be reproduced, four processes must occur:

• Attention — the learner must notice the key features of the model.
• Retention — the demonstration must be remembered (a mental image).
• Motor reproduction — the learner must be physically able to copy it.
• Motivation — the learner must have a drive or reward to perform it.

Insight / Gestalt learning takes the opposite view: rather than building a skill piece by piece, the learner uses previous experience to suddenly "see" the whole solution to a problem, favouring whole practice over rigid part practice.

Match the idea to its psychologist

Tap a feature, then tap the theory it belongs to.

Types of guidance

Guidance helps a learner acquire a skill. There are four types:

• Visual — showing the skill: a demonstration, video or diagram. Vital in the cognitive stage to build the mental picture.
• Verbal — telling the learner: cues and explanations. Best combined with visual guidance and more useful as the learner advances.
• Manual — physically supporting or holding the learner (a coach supporting a gymnast in a vault). Builds confidence and safety.
• Mechanical — using a device or aid (armbands, a harness, a bowling machine) to support or shape the movement.

Caution: over-using manual and mechanical guidance can make the learner dependent on the support and can distort the feel of the real skill (kinaesthesis).

Types of feedback

• Intrinsic vs extrinsic: intrinsic feedback comes from within — the performer's own kinaesthetic feel; extrinsic feedback comes from outside — a coach, team-mate or scoreboard.
• Knowledge of results (KR) vs knowledge of performance (KP): KR is information about the outcome (did the shot go in?); KP is information about the quality of the movement that produced it (your elbow dropped).
• Positive vs negative: positive feedback reinforces what was correct; negative feedback identifies errors so they can be corrected.

Match to the stage: beginners rely on extrinsic feedback and knowledge of results; advanced performers use their own intrinsic feedback and detailed knowledge of performance.

Which feedback is that?

Match each term to its meaning

Tap a term on the left, then its matching definition on the right.

The big ideas to know

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