Watching oneself on video (self-observation) compared to self-observation coupled with a skilled model video (mixed-models) was examined in a gymnastics environment to determine whether combining two model types would be better than just one. Twenty-one gymnasts learned one gymnastics skill with mixed-models and a second skill with self-observation across pre-test, three learning sessions, and post-test. Physical performance, scored by two evaluators, revealed a significant condition by session interaction (F(3,51) = 3.329, p = .027). At session 3 and post-test, scores obtained with mixed-models were significantly higher than those with self-observation. Cognitive representation of the skills was measured at pre-test and post-test via error detection and recognition tests, analyzed using signal detection. Participants had significantly higher response sensitivity scores with mixed-models (F(1,14) = 10.810, p = .005) compared to self-observation. The conclusion drawn is that it is better to incorporate self and skilled models in a gymnastics setting than self-observation alone.

Ten experiments examined the interactions between vision and audition in stimulusdriven spatial attention orienting and inhibition of return (IOR). IOR is the demonstration that subjects are slower to respond to stimuli that are presented at a previously stimulated location. In each experiment, subjects made go/no-go responses to peripheral targets but not to central targets. On every trial, a target was preceded by a sensory event, called a "cue," either in the same modality (intramodal conditions) or in a different modality (crossmodal conditions). The cue did not predict the location of the target stimulus in any experiment. In some experiments, the cue and target modalities were fixed and different. Under these conditions, response times to a visual target were shorter when it appeared at the same location as an auditory cue than when it appeared on the opposite side of fixation, particularly at short (100 ms) cue-target stimulus onset asynchronies (Experiments 1A and IB). Similarly, response times to an auditory target were shorter when it appeared at the same location as a visual cue than when it appeared at a location on the opposite side of fixation (Experiments 2A and 2B). These crossmodal effects indicate that stimulus-driven spatial attention orienting might arise from a single supramodal brain mechanism. IOR was not observed in either crossmodal experiment indicating that it might arise from modality specific mechanisms. However, for many subjects, IOR did occur between auditory cues and visual targets (Experiments 3A and 3B) and between visual cues and auditory targets (Experiment 4A and 4B) when the target could appear in the same modality as the cue on half of the trials. Finally, the crossmodal effects of stimulus-driven spatial attention orienting on auditory and visual event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were examined in the final two experiments. Auditory cues modulated the ERPs to visual targets and visual cues modulated the ERPs to auditory targets, demonstrating that the mechanisms for spatial attention orienting cannot be completely modality specific. However, these crossmodal ERP effects were very different from each other indicating that the mechanisms for spatial attention orienting cannot be completely shared. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

A universal speech facilitation program was developed based on the principles, methods and long-term goals of an existing program, the Speech Motor Learning Program (Van der Merwe, 1985). The development of such a program was indicated because, to date, no systematized intervention program with the aim of general speech facilitation has been attempted to overcome the tremendous challenges of the current rehabilitative scenario in South Africa (shortage of services, untrained staff in the community and multiple language barriers to name a few). The suitability of the SMLP as a starting point for the compilation of a Speech Facilitation Program is illustrated by its clinical success in treating a variety of speech disorders and secondly because it is firmly based on normal speech development and motor learning principles. Based on the SMLP, the SFP was developed and applied to two paired subjects who exhibited general speech and language delay, to determine if the speech facilitation program would facilitate and indeed enhance speech development in the Subjects. The clinical application of the SFP was conducted in an alternating treatment design study using speech facilitation and language treatment respectively. During the treatment phase of the study, probe tests, consisting of ten selected aspects of speech and language, were conducted to determine the effect of the two treatment approaches on these aspects. Three of the aspects showed improvement following treatment with the Speech Facilitation Program. Four aspects showed gradual development throughout the duration of the study, irrespective of the type of treatment and it could possibly be attributed to general development by the subjects as well as regular intervention. Three aspects showed no change during the study. The obtained results seemed to indicate that the SFP influenced speech development positively and that it could be developed into a valuable clinical tool for the treatment of certain speech disorders. / Dissertation (MA (Communication Pathology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology / unrestricted

O presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a aprendizagem em uma tarefa dual em comparação à aprendizagem de tarefas singulares e a respectiva variação de demanda atencional em função da prática. Participaram do estudo 27 estudantes universitários destros, divididos em três grupos de acordo com a tarefa praticada: prática da tarefa singular de traçar uma estrela com a mão esquerda recebendo feedback invertido (EST), prática da tarefa singular de toques sequenciais dos dedos da mão direita (TOQ) e prática dual consistindo na prática simultânea das duas tarefas singulares (T+E). A demanda atencional foi mensurada por meio do tempo de reação probatório, com estímulo auditivo e resposta vocal. As tarefas foram praticadas em 200 tentativas, distribuídas em 4 sessões executadas em diferentes dias. O efeito de aprendizagem foi avaliado após um dia e após uma semana a última sessão de prática. Os resultados mostraram que a demanda atencional foi maior na tarefa dual em comparação com as tarefas singulares e houve diminuição persistente da demanda atencional após o período de prática somente para a tarefa dual. A análise da fase de aquisição mostrou que o ganho proporcional de desempenho do grupo T+E foi equivalente ao encontrado para os grupos singulares, apesar de ter havido vantagem de desempenho favorável aos grupos singulares. A avaliação da retenção revelou que a prática na tarefa dual induziu resultados equivalentes à prática nas tarefas singulares quando avaliado o desempenho em cada tarefa motora separadamente. Para desempenho na tarefa dual, o grupo T+E atingiu valores superiores ao grupo EST e valores equivalentes ao grupo TOQ nas respectivas tarefas praticadas por estes dois grupos. Tais resultados mostram que o compartilhamento dos recursos atencionais durante a tarefa dual não prejudicou a aprendizagem motora em comparação com a prática com atenção focal em uma tarefa singular / This study aimed to evaluate learning of a dual task in comparison to learning of single tasks and the respective variation of attentional demand as a function of practice. Twenty-seven right-handed university students participated of the study. They were assigned to one of three groups: practice of a single task requiring drawing of a star based on inverted visual feedback with the left hand (EST); practice of a single task requiring fast sequential fingers movements with the right hand (TOQ); and practice of a dual task requiring performance of both single tasks simultaneously (T+E). To evaluate attentional demand we used a probe reaction time task, consisting of auditory stimuli and vocal responses. The experimental tasks were practiced for 200 trials, during four sessions distributed on different days. The learning effect was evaluated after one day and after one week the last practice session. Results showed that attentional demand was higher when performing the dual task in comparison with the two single tasks and reduced attentional demand persisted after the practice period only for the dual task. Analysis of the acquisition phase showed that the proportional performance gain of the T+E group was equivalent to that found for groups practicing single tasks, despite the performance advantage favoring the latter. Evaluation of the retention phase showed that practice of the dual task led to similar results to practicing single tasks when performance was measured on each motor task separately. For performance on the dual task, the T+E group was superior in comparison with the EST group and equivalent to the TOQ group on the specific tasks practiced by these two groups. The results evidenced that sharing attentional resources in the practice of a dual task did not hinder motor learning in comparison to situations of focused attention to the practice of a single task

O objetivo desse trabalho foi investigar os efeitos da quantidade de elementos manipulados na prática variada aleatória, após a prática constante, no processo adaptativo de aprendizagem motora. Participaram do estudo 66 crianças de ambos os gêneros e a tarefa foi de timing coincidente. Foram realizados três experimentos que diferiram no aspecto da tarefa manipulado na prática variada aleatória: velocidade do estímulo visual (experimento 1), padrão seqüencial de resposta (experimento 2) e velocidade do estímulo visual e padrão seqüencial de resposta conjuntamente (experimento 3). Em todos os experimentos, o delineamento envolveu duas quantidades de elementos: três e seis (experimentos 1 e 2); e, nove e trinta e seis (experimento 3). Fez parte do delineamento, também, duas fases de aprendizagem (estabilização e adaptação). As variáveis dependentes foram os erros absoluto, variável, constante e de execução. Os resultados dos três experimentos permitiram concluir que os efeitos das diferentes quantidades de variabilidade na prática aleatória, após a prática constante, no processo adaptativo de aprendizagem motora foram semelhantes / The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of the amount of elements manipulated in random practice, after the constant practice, in the adaptive process in motor learning. Participants were 66 children of both gender and the task was of coincident timing. Three experiments were carried out manipulating the task aspects in the random practice: visual stimulus speed (experiment 1); sequential response pattern (experiment 2); and visual stimulus speed and sequential response pattern simultaneously (experiment 3). In all experiments the design involved two amounts of elements manipulated in random practice: three and six (experiments 1 and 2), nine and thirty six (experiment 3). The design also involved two phases: stabilization and adaptation. The dependent variables were the absolute, variable, constant and execution error. The results of the three experiments allowed concluding that the effects of different quantities of variability in the random practice, after constant practice, in the adaptive process of motor learning were similar

O ensino do Judô está largamente baseado no senso comum. Os professores quase sempre utilizam o método tradicional e pouca inovação tem acontecido com base em conhecimentos científicos. O presente estudo investigou métodos de ensino dos golpes de Judô a partir da Aprendizagem Motora, comparando a prática tradicional em diferentes contextos ambientais com as práticas que envolveram exploração de deslocamentos de preparação para o kuzushi - prática do todo e a prática por partes progressivas. A aprendizagem do kuzushi foi investigada por meio de dois experimentos, referentes ao golpe o soto gari (experimento 1) e o golpe tai otoshi (experimento 2). Em ambos os experimentos os sujeitos foram distribuídos em quatro grupos experimentais: tradicional estático; tradicional em movimento; todo com preparação e por partes progressivas com preparação. O delineamento experimental constou de quatro fases: teste de entrada; aquisição; teste-final e retenção. Mediante o uso de vídeo foram analisados os padrões de movimento com relação à configuração total do golpe e do kuzushi - dividido em tarefa motora e efeito. Em relação à configuração total do golpe, em todos os grupos experimentais de ambos os experimentos houve uma evolução significativa após a prática. A partir das comparações entre os grupos, concluiu-se que: a) a condição de prática em que os golpes são aprendidos pelo todo, cujas características são similares à luta de Judô com a projeção do oponente, proporcionou desempenhos superiores no teste final e de retenção; b) as práticas tradicionais (aprendizagem dos golpes em posição estática) contemplam só a forma do movimento, e não a função que o movimento aprendido deve desempenhar (desequilíbrio) / The teaching of Judo is largely based on common sense. Teachers usually apply the traditional method and little, if any, innovation has been found on the grounds of scientific knowledge. This study presents an investigation of teaching methods of throwing techniques of Judo from the perspective of Motor Learning. Traditional practice in different environment contexts was compared with practice that involved displacement exploration for kuzushis preparation whole practice and progressive parts practice. The learning of kuzushi was investigated by two experiments, involving two throwing techniques: o soto gari (experiment 1) and tai otoshi (experiment 2). In both experiments, the subjects were assigned in four experimental groups: static traditional; traditional in movement; whole with displacement and progressive parts with displacement. Each experiment consisted of four phases: pre-test; acquisition; final test and retention. The movements were recorded and analyzed as to global configuration of the throwing technique and kuzushi - divided in motor task and effect. Owing to the global configuration of the throwing technique, all the experimental groups of both experiments had significant evolution after practice. When comparisons among groups were performed, it was concluded that: a) the condition of practice in which the throwing technique was learned by the whole practice (most similar to the Judo fight with the projection of the opponent) led to superior performance on final and retention tests and b) the traditional practices (throwing technique in static position) implied only the form of the kuzushi, not its function, which is important to the movement to be learned (unbalance)

O objetivo desta pesquisa foi investigar o efeito de metas difíceis e fáceis na aquisição de uma tarefa motora em pessoas com altos e baixos níveis de ansiedade traço. Participaram da parte inicial da pesquisa, 465 estudantes de ambos gêneros, entre 15 e 18 anos. Após ser determinado o nível de ansiedade, oitenta adolescentes foram distribuídos em quatro grupos de acordo com os níveis de ansiedade (alto e baixo) e de estabelecimento de metas (difícil e fácil). A tarefa consistiu em subir a escada de BACHMAN. O experimento constou de quatro fases: aquisição, transferência imediata, transferência atrasada e retenção. A análise dos dados foi feita com três classificações, sendo a primeira com base nos valores gerais e 80 participantes, a segunda com base em valores mais extremos de ansiedade traço e 40 participantes; e a terceira com base nos gêneros e 20 participantes. O resultado principal foi referente ao gênero feminino, em que, no teste de transferência imediata, as meninas baixo ansiosas submetidas ao estabelecimento de metas difícil apresentaram desempenho pior que as meninas baixo ansiosas submetidas ao estabelecimento de metas fáceis. Além disso, pôde-se concluir que estudos futuros devem ser conduzidos com cuidados metodológicos relativos à inclusão na amostra, com base nos níveis mensurados e no gênero dos participantes / The goal of this research was to investigate the effect of difficult and easy targets in acquiring a motor task in people with high and low levels of anxiety trait. Participated in the early part of search, 465 students both genres, between 15 and 18 years. After being given the level of anxiety, eighty teenagers were distributed in four groups according to the levels of anxiety (high and low) and goal setting (hard and easy). The task was to climb the ladder of BACHMAN. The experiment consisted of four phases: acquisition phase, immediate and late transfer phases and retention phase. Data analysis was done with three classifications, being the first on the basis of general values and 80 participants, the second based on values more extreme anxiety trait and 40 participants; and the third based on genres and 20 participants. The main outcome was for female, where, in the immediate transfer test, low eager girls subjected to goals setting difficult performed worse than girls down anxious before the goals setting easy. Moreover, it might be concluded that further studies should be conducted with methodological care relating to inclusion in the sample, on the basis of the levels measured and gender of participants

O uso do feedback extrínseco ao longo do processo de aquisição de uma habilidade motora tem sido objeto de estudo e, mais recentemente, tem se investigado se o aprendiz é capaz de gerenciar o fornecimento dessas informações. Contudo, a literatura sobre os efeitos do conhecimento de performance (CP) com populações idosas é incipiente e os resultados não são esclarecedores. Nesse sentido, o objetivo geral desse estudo foi investigar o efeito de um regime de fornecimento de CP autocontrolado na aprendizagem motora de idosos. Foram planejados dois experimentos. O objetivo do Experimento 1 foi investigar o efeito do fornecimento de diferentes tipos de CP (CP descritivo/vídeo-replay e CP prescritivo/verbal) na aprendizagem de uma habilidade motora em idosos. A tarefa utilizada foi a tacada curta do golfe. Participaram deste experimento 36 idosos com média de idade de 65 anos, distribuídos em três grupos experimentais: Presc; Vídeo+Presc; e Vídeo. Os idosos praticaram 120 tacadas a 2,20m do alvo em duas sessões de prática e foram realizados testes de retenção e transferência. A ANOVA encontrou diferenças significantes entre os grupos no desempenho (escore), na amplitude do backswing e forwardswing. O post hoc de Bonferroni mostrou que os grupos Presc e Video+Presc foram superiores ao grupo Vídeo (p<=0,05). Portanto, o CP prescritivo foi responsável pela mudança no padrão de movimento, bem como, na diminuição dos erros. O objetivo do Experimento 2 foi investigar o efeito do fornecimento de CP autocontrolado no processo de aprendizagem de uma habilidade motora em indivíduos idosos. Participaram desse estudo 40 indivíduos com idade entre 60 e 80 anos, divididos em dois grupos: Auto e Yoked. A tarefa utilizada foi a mesma do Experimento 1 e o delineamento experimental contou com testes de retenção (R5 e R24) e transferência (T1 e T2). O desempenho foi avaliado pela pontuação obtida na tacada (escore) e foi realizada a análise cinemática. A ANOVA não detectou diferenças significantes entre os grupos Auto e Yoked nas medidas realizadas (p<=0,05). Além disso, a análise da variabilidade intraindividual mostrou que o grupo Auto variou mais comparado ao grupo Yoked nas medidas de tempo e amplitude do backswing, tempo de preparação e tempo de movimento. Portanto, não houve efeito do regime de CP autocontrolado na aquisição da tacada curta do golfe. A partir do reagrupamento realizado com base na frequência de recebimento de CP, os idosos foram organizados em dois grupos G9 e G55, que receberam CP em 9% e 55% das tentativas, respectivamente. Com a formação dos novos grupos, foram refeitas todas as análises. A análise inferencial encontrou diferenças significantes em praticamente todas as medidas (p<=0,05), mostrando que o G55 apresentou um comportamento qualitativamente superior quando comparado ao G9. Em suma, os resultados corroboram com as pesquisas que investigaram idosos sob uma condição autocontrolada, confirmando que idosos não foram influenciados ao serem inseridos num regime autocontrolado de fornecimento de CP. Além disso, a frequência de fornecimento de CP elevada, ou 55%, parece ser um fator que incrementa o desempenho de idosos / The use of extrinsic feedback throughout the process of acquisition of a motor skill has been a topic of study and, more recently, has investigated if the learner is able to manage the provision of this information. However, the literature on the effects of knowledge of performance (CP) with elderly populations is incipient and the results are not clear. In this sense, the general objective of this study was to investigate the effect of a system for providing self-controlled CP of motor learning in the elderly. Two experiments were planned. The goal of the Experiment 1 was to investigate the effect of the providing of different types of CP (descriptive/video-replay CP and prescriptive/verbal CP) in learning a motor skill in the elderly. The task used was the golf putting. Thirty six elderlies, average age of 65 years, participated in this experiment and were divided into three experimental groups: Presc; Video+Presc; and Video. The elderly practiced 120 strokes to 2.20 m from the target in two practice sessions and tests of retention and transfer were conducted. ANOVA found significant differences between the groups on performance (score), the amplitude of the backswing and forwardswing. Post hoc Bonferroni test showed that Presc and Video+Presc were superior to Video (p <= 0.05). Therefore, CP prescriptive was responsible for the change in the pattern of movement, as well as in the reduction of errors. The goal of the Experiment 2 was to investigate the effect of providing selfcontrolled CP in the acquisition of a motor skill in elderly individuals. Forty 40 individuals aged between 60 and 80 years, participated of this study and were divided into two groups: Auto and Yoked. The task used was the same as that of Experiment 1 and there was retention (R5 and R24) and transfer (T1 and T2) tests. The performance was evaluated by the score obtained in the shot and kinematic analysis was performed. ANOVA did not detect significant differences between groups in the all measures undertaken (p <= 0.05). Furthermore, the analysis showed that intraindividual variability of the Auto group varied more than Yoked in the time and amplitude of the backswing, preparation time and movement time. Therefore, there was no effect of the self-regulated CP in the acquisition of short putt golf. Participants reorganization was carried out based on the frequency of the CP given, and elderly were divided into two groups G9 and G55, who received CP in 9% and 55% in the attempts, respectively. All the analyses were redone. The inferential analysis found significant differences in virtually all measures (p <= 0.05), showing that the G55 presented a qualitatively superior behavior when compared to the G9. In short, the results corroborate with the research that investigated elderly under a selfregulated condition, confirming that the elderly were not influenced by being inserted in a self-controlled system of CP delivery. In addition, the high frequency of providing CP, or 55%, seems to be a factor that increases the performance of the elderly

Recentemente os efeitos de diferentes estruturas de prática na aquisição de hablidades motoras têm sido investigados sob um modelo de não-equilíbrio de aprendizagem motora denominado de Processo Adaptativo. Os achados dessas investigações têm se mostrado divergentes e, no presente trabalho, foram especulados em relação à especificidade da tarefa. A pergunta que se fez foi: os efeitos das práticas constante, aleatória, constante-aleatória e aleatória-constante na aquisição de habilidades motoras seriam específicos à tarefa? Sendo assim, esse trabalho teve como objetivo investigar os efeitos de diferentes estruturas de prática na aquisição de habilidades motoras em função da especificidade da tarefa. Foram realizados três experimentos nos quais as exigências de aprendizagem e a variabilidade de prática foram em termos de controle temporal, de força e espacial, respectivamente, experimentos 1, 2 e 3. Os três experimentos envolveram um delineamento com quatro grupos de prática (constante, aleatória, constante-eleatória e aleatória-contante) e de duas fases (estabilização e adaptação). Os participantes de cada experimento foram 60 crianças com idade média de 11 anos. Os resultados permitiram a conclusão de que houve complementaridade de especificidade/generalidade da tarefa nos efeitos da estruturação da prática no processo adaptativo em aprendizagem motora / Recently the effects of practice schedules on the acquisition of motor skills have been investigated under a non-equilibrium model for motor learning known as Adaptive Process. The findings of these investigations have been divergent, and on this dissertation they are speculated on the basis of task specificity. The question asked was: would the effects of constant, random, constant-random and random-constant practice schedules on motor skills acquisition be specific to the task? Thus, the purpouse of this study was to investigate the effects of different practice schedules on the acquisition of motor skills as a function of task specificity. This matter was investigated in three experiments in wich the learning demands and practice variability were in terms of time, force and spatial control, respectively, experiments 1, 2 and 3. The experimental design of the three experiments involved four practice groups (constant, random, constant-random, and random-constant) and two phases (stabilization and adaptation). Sixty children, with mean age of 11 years, participated of each experiment. The results suggest that there is a complementarity of specificity and generability of the effects of the different practice schedules on the adaptive process for the different tasks

Evidências na literatura apontam que com a prática de habilidades motoras com alta demanda cognitiva é adquirida uma representação mental. No entanto, freqüentemente observa-se que indivíduos com desempenho semelhante em uma mesma habilidade possuem distinta capacidade de adaptação, ou seja, apresentam desempenhos diferentes na execução da mesma habilidade em uma outra condição. A questão central deste estudo tem origem nesse aparente paradoxo: estruturas de representação mental de mesma natureza proverem capacidade de adaptação distinta. Há evidências na literatura de que o grau de liberdade de escolha do aprendiz pode afetar o processo de aquisição de habilidades motoras, sendo que um grau ótimo dessa liberdade proporcionaria a formação de uma representação mental que favorece a capacidade de adaptação. Assim, o objetivo do estudo foi investigar o efeito do grau de liberdade na escolha da resposta no processo adaptativo em aprendizagem motora. Foram realizados três experimentos, nos quais indivíduos que adquiriram uma representação mental, em três condições distintas de liberdade de escolha, foram testados em sua capacidade de adaptação a modificações da tarefa: perceptiva (EXPERIMENTO 1), efetora (EXPERIMENTO 2) e perceptivo-efetora (EXPERIMENTO 3). Participaram do estudo 139 voluntários com média de idade de 21 anos. Foi utilizada uma tarefa complexa de timing coincidente. Os resultados permitiram concluir que um alto grau de liberdade na escolha da resposta, durante a estabilização de uma habilidade motora, prejudica o processo de adaptação a uma modificação perceptivo-efetora da tarefa, havendo indicativo de que um grau médio é benéfico. Além disso, houve indícios de que o não fornecimento de liberdade de escolha prejudica a adaptação a uma modificação efetora da tarefa / Evidence on literature indicates that with the practice of a motor skill with high cognitive demand a mental representation is acquired. Nevertheless, it is frequently observed that individuals with similar performances in a skill have distinct adaptation capacity, e.g., they show different performances when executing the same skill in another condition. The main question of this study derives from this apparent paradox: mental representation structures of the same nature providing distinct adaptation capacity. There is evidence on literature that the learner?s degree of freedom of choice may affect the acquisition process of a motor skill, given that an optimal degree of that freedom would lead to the formation of a mental representation which favours the adaptation capacity. Thus, the purpouse of this study was to investigate the effect of the degree of freedom in response choice on adaptive process in motor learning. This matter was investigated in three experiments, in which individuals who acquired a mental representation in three distinct conditions of freedom in response choice were tested on their capacity to adapt to: perceptual (EXPERIMENT 1), motor (EXPERIMENT 2) and perceptual-motor (EXPERIMENT 3) task modifications. A hundred thrity-nine volunteers, with mean age of 21 years, took part in this study. A complex coincident timing task was used. The results allowed to conclude that a high degree of freedom in response choice, during the stabilization of a motor skill, impairs the adaptation process to a perceptual-motor modification of the task. Furthermore, the results suggest that a medium degree of freedom is beneficial to adapt to a perceptual-motor modification of the task and that not provinding freedom in response choice impairs the adaptation to a motor modification of the task