Tidigare forskning har visat att hög contextual interference försämrar den omedelbara prestationen vid ackvisitionen av en färdighet, men främjar inlärning jämfört med låg contextual interference. Resultaten från tillämpad forskning är dock mångtydig och det råder oklarhet i när och i vilka sammanhang effekten uppstår. Syftet med denna positivistiska studie var att jämföra två övningsstrategier med olika grad av contextual interference vid inlärning av rudiments för trumspel. Vuxna musikhögskolestudenter (N=17) med begränsad erfarenhet av trumspel delades in i två grupper – seriell (n=8) och blockindelad (n=9). Uppgiften var att lära sig spela tre rudiment. Den blockindelade gruppen övade sex minuter på varje rudiment en gång, medan den seriella gruppen övade en minut på varje rudiment sex gånger. Deltagarnas retention testades direkt efter och 48 timmar efter övningen. Båda grupperna spelade signifikant snabbare mellan förtest och retentionstesten (p<.01) men det fanns ingen signifikant interaktion mellan grupp och mättillfälle (p=.96) vilket betyder att båda grupper blev lika mycket bättre. I diskussionen redovisas ett antal möjliga förklaringar till varför effekten inte visade sig i denna studie. / Previous research has found that high contextual interference hinders performance at acquisition but promotes learning compared to low contextual interference. The findings in applied research is however ambiguous and there’s uncertainty of when and in which contexts the effect occurs. The purpose of this study was to compare two practice strategies with different levels of contextual interference. Adult college music students (N=17) with limited experience playing drums were divided in to two treatment groups – serial (n=8) and blocked (n=9). The task was to learn to play three drum rudiments. The blocked group practiced each rudiment for six minutes one time while the serial group practice each rudiment for one minute six times. Retention tests were performed immediately after and 48 hours after acquisition. Both groups played significantly faster at retention compared to pre-test (p<.01) but there was no significant interaction between group and test (Pre-test to retention) (p=.96) meaning both groups improved equally. In the discussion a number possible of explanations as to why the effect wasn’t observed are presented.

La mémoire n’est pas un processus unitaire et est souvent divisée en deux catégories majeures: la mémoire déclarative (pour les faits) et procédurale (pour les habitudes et habiletés motrices). Pour perdurer, une trace mnésique doit passer par la consolidation, un processus par lequel elle devient plus robuste et moins susceptible à l’interférence. Le sommeil est connu comme jouant un rôle clé pour permettre le processus de consolidation, particulièrement pour la mémoire déclarative. Depuis plusieurs années cependant, son rôle est aussi reconnu pour la mémoire procédurale. Il est par contre intéressant de noter que ce ne sont pas tous les types de mémoire procédurale qui requiert le sommeil afin d’être consolidée. Entre autres, le sommeil semble nécessaire pour consolider un apprentissage de séquences motrices (s’apparentant à l’apprentissage du piano), mais pas un apprentissage d’adaptation visuomotrice (tel qu’apprendre à rouler à bicyclette). Parallèlement, l’apprentissage à long terme de ces deux types d’habiletés semble également sous-tendu par des circuits neuronaux distincts; c’est-à-dire un réseau cortico-striatal et cortico-cérébelleux respectivement. Toutefois, l’implication de ces réseaux dans le processus de consolidation comme tel demeure incertain. Le but de cette thèse est donc de mieux comprendre le rôle du sommeil, en contrôlant pour le simple passage du temps, dans la consolidation de ces deux types d’apprentissage, à l’aide de l’imagerie par résonnance magnétique fonctionnelle et d’analyses de connectivité cérébrale. Nos résultats comportementaux supportent l’idée que seul l’apprentissage séquentiel requiert le sommeil pour déclencher le processus de consolidation. Nous suggérons de plus que le putamen est fortement associé à ce processus. En revanche, les performances d’un apprentissage visuomoteur s’améliorent indépendamment du sommeil et sont de plus corrélées à une plus grande activation du cervelet. Finalement, en explorant l’effet du sommeil sur la connectivité cérébrale, nos résultats démontrent qu’en fait, un système cortico-striatal semble être plus intégré suite à la consolidation. C’est-à-dire que l’interaction au sein des régions du système est plus forte lorsque la consolidation a eu lieu, après une nuit de sommeil. En opposition, le simple passage du temps semble nuire à l’intégration de ce réseau cortico-striatal. En somme, nous avons pu élargir les connaissances quant au rôle du sommeil pour la mémoire procédurale, notamment en démontrant que ce ne sont pas tous les types d’apprentissages qui requièrent le sommeil pour amorcer le processus de consolidation. D’ailleurs, nous avons également démontré que cette dissociation de l’effet du sommeil est également reflétée par l’implication de deux réseaux cérébraux distincts. À savoir, un réseau cortico-striatal et un réseau cortico-cérébelleux pour la consolidation respective de l’apprentissage de séquence et d’adaptation visuomotrice. Enfin, nous suggérons que la consolidation durant le sommeil permet de protéger et favoriser une meilleure cohésion au sein du réseau cortico-striatal associé à notre tâche; un phénomène qui, s’il est retrouvé avec d’autres types d’apprentissage, pourrait être considéré comme un nouveau marqueur de la consolidation. / Memory in humans is generally divided into two broad categories: declarative (for facts and events) and procedural (for skills and motor abilities). To persist, memories undergo a process referred to as consolidation, where a fresh, initially labile memory trace becomes more robust and stable. Sleep is known to play an important role in declarative memory consolidation, and in the past decade, there has been increasing evidence for a role of sleep in the consolidation of procedural memory as well. Interestingly, however, the beneficial effects of sleep do not seem to be homogenous. Motor sequence learning consolidation, in particular, has been found to be particularly sensitive to sleep effects, while the consolidation of motor adaptation has not. Moreover, neuroimaging research, has demonstrated that the long term retention of these two types of motor abilities rely on different neuronal networks, namely the cortico-striatal and cortico-cerebellar systems, respectively. Yet the implication of these networks in the consolidation of these two types of motor memory remains unclear. The aim of the present doctoral thesis was thus to determine the influence of sleep, while controlling for the simple passage of daytime, on the consolidation of a motor sequence learning task vs. a motor adaptation task. We further aimed to bring new insights into the underlying brain regions involved in consolidating these two forms of motor skills. Consistent with previous research, we found off-line improvements in performance for motor adaptation learning, independent of whether participants had a night of sleep or remained awake during daytime. Furthermore, these improvements were correlated with activity in the cerebellum. In contrast, we found that off-line increases in performance in motor sequence learning were evident after a night of sleep but not over the day; and the putamen was strongly associated with this sleep-dependent consolidation process. Finally, while measuring brain changes in connectivity associated with the latter process, we observed that sleep-dependent consolidation is reflected by an increased level of integration within the cortico-striatal system, but not in other functional networks. Conversely, the simple passage of daytime in the wake state seems to result in decreased cortico-striatal integration. In sum our results highlight that not all motor memories undergo sleep-dependent consolidation. We demonstrated that these different paths to consolidation are also reflected by distinct underlying neuronal systems, namely a cortico-striatal and cortico-cerebellar network associated with the consolidation of motor sequence and motor adaptation learning respectively. Furthermore, we propose that consolidation of motor sequences during sleep protects and favors cohesion within the cortico-striatal system, a phenomenon that, if replicated in other types of memories, may be considered as a new marker of sleep-dependent consolidation.

La mémoire n’est pas un processus unitaire et est souvent divisée en deux catégories majeures: la mémoire déclarative (pour les faits) et procédurale (pour les habitudes et habiletés motrices). Pour perdurer, une trace mnésique doit passer par la consolidation, un processus par lequel elle devient plus robuste et moins susceptible à l’interférence. Le sommeil est connu comme jouant un rôle clé pour permettre le processus de consolidation, particulièrement pour la mémoire déclarative. Depuis plusieurs années cependant, son rôle est aussi reconnu pour la mémoire procédurale. Il est par contre intéressant de noter que ce ne sont pas tous les types de mémoire procédurale qui requiert le sommeil afin d’être consolidée. Entre autres, le sommeil semble nécessaire pour consolider un apprentissage de séquences motrices (s’apparentant à l’apprentissage du piano), mais pas un apprentissage d’adaptation visuomotrice (tel qu’apprendre à rouler à bicyclette). Parallèlement, l’apprentissage à long terme de ces deux types d’habiletés semble également sous-tendu par des circuits neuronaux distincts; c’est-à-dire un réseau cortico-striatal et cortico-cérébelleux respectivement. Toutefois, l’implication de ces réseaux dans le processus de consolidation comme tel demeure incertain. Le but de cette thèse est donc de mieux comprendre le rôle du sommeil, en contrôlant pour le simple passage du temps, dans la consolidation de ces deux types d’apprentissage, à l’aide de l’imagerie par résonnance magnétique fonctionnelle et d’analyses de connectivité cérébrale. Nos résultats comportementaux supportent l’idée que seul l’apprentissage séquentiel requiert le sommeil pour déclencher le processus de consolidation. Nous suggérons de plus que le putamen est fortement associé à ce processus. En revanche, les performances d’un apprentissage visuomoteur s’améliorent indépendamment du sommeil et sont de plus corrélées à une plus grande activation du cervelet. Finalement, en explorant l’effet du sommeil sur la connectivité cérébrale, nos résultats démontrent qu’en fait, un système cortico-striatal semble être plus intégré suite à la consolidation. C’est-à-dire que l’interaction au sein des régions du système est plus forte lorsque la consolidation a eu lieu, après une nuit de sommeil. En opposition, le simple passage du temps semble nuire à l’intégration de ce réseau cortico-striatal. En somme, nous avons pu élargir les connaissances quant au rôle du sommeil pour la mémoire procédurale, notamment en démontrant que ce ne sont pas tous les types d’apprentissages qui requièrent le sommeil pour amorcer le processus de consolidation. D’ailleurs, nous avons également démontré que cette dissociation de l’effet du sommeil est également reflétée par l’implication de deux réseaux cérébraux distincts. À savoir, un réseau cortico-striatal et un réseau cortico-cérébelleux pour la consolidation respective de l’apprentissage de séquence et d’adaptation visuomotrice. Enfin, nous suggérons que la consolidation durant le sommeil permet de protéger et favoriser une meilleure cohésion au sein du réseau cortico-striatal associé à notre tâche; un phénomène qui, s’il est retrouvé avec d’autres types d’apprentissage, pourrait être considéré comme un nouveau marqueur de la consolidation. / Memory in humans is generally divided into two broad categories: declarative (for facts and events) and procedural (for skills and motor abilities). To persist, memories undergo a process referred to as consolidation, where a fresh, initially labile memory trace becomes more robust and stable. Sleep is known to play an important role in declarative memory consolidation, and in the past decade, there has been increasing evidence for a role of sleep in the consolidation of procedural memory as well. Interestingly, however, the beneficial effects of sleep do not seem to be homogenous. Motor sequence learning consolidation, in particular, has been found to be particularly sensitive to sleep effects, while the consolidation of motor adaptation has not. Moreover, neuroimaging research, has demonstrated that the long term retention of these two types of motor abilities rely on different neuronal networks, namely the cortico-striatal and cortico-cerebellar systems, respectively. Yet the implication of these networks in the consolidation of these two types of motor memory remains unclear. The aim of the present doctoral thesis was thus to determine the influence of sleep, while controlling for the simple passage of daytime, on the consolidation of a motor sequence learning task vs. a motor adaptation task. We further aimed to bring new insights into the underlying brain regions involved in consolidating these two forms of motor skills. Consistent with previous research, we found off-line improvements in performance for motor adaptation learning, independent of whether participants had a night of sleep or remained awake during daytime. Furthermore, these improvements were correlated with activity in the cerebellum. In contrast, we found that off-line increases in performance in motor sequence learning were evident after a night of sleep but not over the day; and the putamen was strongly associated with this sleep-dependent consolidation process. Finally, while measuring brain changes in connectivity associated with the latter process, we observed that sleep-dependent consolidation is reflected by an increased level of integration within the cortico-striatal system, but not in other functional networks. Conversely, the simple passage of daytime in the wake state seems to result in decreased cortico-striatal integration. In sum our results highlight that not all motor memories undergo sleep-dependent consolidation. We demonstrated that these different paths to consolidation are also reflected by distinct underlying neuronal systems, namely a cortico-striatal and cortico-cerebellar network associated with the consolidation of motor sequence and motor adaptation learning respectively. Furthermore, we propose that consolidation of motor sequences during sleep protects and favors cohesion within the cortico-striatal system, a phenomenon that, if replicated in other types of memories, may be considered as a new marker of sleep-dependent consolidation.

Title: The Assessment of the Impact of the Sports Aerobics on the Postural Stabilization of the girls aged 8 to 10 years Definition of the problem: This thesis deals with testing of the postural stabilization and also deals with detection of the occurrence of hypermobility in two groups of girls aged 8-10 years. The first group consist of girls that do sports aerobics and second group consist of girls that do not do any sport. Objectives: In the theoretical part I will devote a summary of findings on the development of postural security, with motor development and motor learning and also very briefly the hypermobility. The aim is to verify if the sports aerobics has a formative influence on postural stabilization of girls at a school age. I examine if the high training load at this early age leads to changes in postural motor skills in terms of its positive or negative influence. Furthermore, the research confirms the higher incidence of hypermobility among athletes. Methods: Selection of the research group on a voluntary basis and according to predetermined criteria. Practical testing of children assembled using two test batteries. Statistical data processing (Student's t-test, Spearman's correlation coefficient). Comparing the results between the two groups of girls. Results: Two test sets...

Le feedback auditif se définit comme un signal auditif qui contient de l'information sur un mouvement. Il a été montré que le feedback auditif peut guider le mouvement en temps réel, mais son influence sur l'apprentissage moteur est moins clair. Cette thèse a pour but d'examiner l'influence du feedback auditif sur l'apprentissage moteur, en se focalisant sur le contrôle temporel des mouvements. Premièrement, nous étudions l'apprentissage moteur chez les non-musiciens sains et montrons qu'ils bénéficient de l'information temporelle contenue dans le feedback auditif et qu'ils sont sensibles aux distorsions de cette information temporelle. Deuxièmement, nous appliquons ces connaissances à la réhabilitation de patients cérébro-lésés. Nous trouvons que ces patients améliorent leurs capacités de mouvement mais ne dépendent pas de la correspondance temporelle entre le mouvement et le son. Paradoxalement, ces patients ont même bénéficié des distorsions temporelles dans le feedback. Troisièmement, nous étudions les experts musicaux, car ils ont établi des liens particulièrement forts entre leur mouvement et le son. Nous développons de nouveaux outils d'analyse qui nous permettent de séparer les déviations temporelles en variation systématique et non-systématique. Le résultat principal est que ces experts sont devenus largement indépendants du feedback auditif. La proposition centrale de cette thèse est que le feedback auditif joue un rôle dans l'apprentissage moteur de la régularité, mais la façon dont le cerveau l'utilise dépend de la population étudiée. Ces résultats donnent une nouvelle perspective sur l'intégration audio-motrice et contribuent au développement de nouvelles approches pour l'apprentissage de la musique et la réhabilitation / Auditory feedback is an auditory signal that contains information about performed movement. Music performance is an excellent candidate to study its influence on motor actions, since the auditory result is the explicit goal of the movement. Indeed, auditory feedback can guide online motor actions, but its influence on motor learning has been investigated less. This thesis investigates the influence of auditory feedback in motor learning, focusing particularly on how we learn temporal control over movements. First, we investigate motor learning in non-musicians, finding that they benefit from temporal information supplied by the auditory signal and are sensitive to distortions of this temporal information. Second, we turn to stroke patients that are re-learning motor actions in a rehabilitation setting. Patients improved their movement capacities but did not depend on the time-locking between movements and the resulting auditory feedback. Surprisingly, they appear to benefit from distortions in feedback. Third, we investigate musical experts, who arguably have established strong links between movement and auditory feedback. We develop a novel analysis framework that allows us to segment timing into systematic and non-systematic variability. Our finding is that these experts have become largely independent of the auditory feedback. The main claim defended in this thesis is that auditory feedback can and does play a role in motor learning of regularity, but the way in which it is used varies qualitatively between different populations. These findings provide new insights into auditory-motor integration and are relevant for developing new perspectives on the role of music in training and rehabilitation settings

A iniciação esportiva tem sido foco de diversos estudos nas áreas das Ciências do Esporte e da Psicologia do Esporte. A aquisição de habilidades, como uma área específica, também tem concentrado esforços de diversos pesquisadores. A Análise do Comportamento aplicada a estes campos tem muito por oferecer. Estudos sobre comportamento verbal, especificamente, podem contribuir substancialmente para a solução de problemas na relação entre professores/ treinadores e iniciantes. Um procedimento, frequentemente utilizado e descrito na literatura específica é a auto-fala, que consiste em verbalizações emitidas para um falante, tendo ele mesmo como ouvinte. Ambientes esportivos costumam ser complexos, no que se refere à disponibilidade de estímulos, proporcionando dificuldades relacionadas à concentração. A auto-fala, como descrita e explicada na literatura, acaba tendo a função de auxiliar o atleta a selecionar estímulos relevantes para as tarefas esportivas, facilitando o estabelecimento de discriminações. O presente estudo investigou o efeito isolado de procedimentos de auto-fala sobre a aquisição de habilidades em modalidades esportivas simuladas, com sete adolescentes sem experiência prévia em treinamento com as modalidades e/ou com o equipamento. Foi utilizado o console de videogame Wii, no treinamento das habilidades de rebatida no beisebol, e lançamento da bola no boliche. Os dados obtidos sugeriram que os participantes, que utilizaram os procedimentos verbais, apresentaram desempenhos superiores, em comparação aos que não o fizeram. Também foi realizada uma comparação entre dois tipos de procedimentos de auto-fala: reforçada diferencialmente e instruída. Foram encontradas diferenças de desempenho, porém não tão significativas quanto às diferenças entre os participantes que se valeram dos procedimentos verbais e os que não o fizeram / The sport initiation has been the focus of several studies in the areas of Sports Science and Sports Psychology. The acquisition of skills, such as a specific area, has also concentrated efforts of many researchers. Behavior Analysis applied to these fields have much to offer. Studies on verbal behavior, specifically, can contribute substantially to the solution of problems in the relationship between teachers / trainers and beginners. A procedure often used and described in specific literature is self-talk, which consists of verbalizations issued for a speaker, and he himself as a listener. Sporting environments are usually complex, with regard to the availability of stimuli, providing difficulties related to concentration. Self-talk, as described and explained in literature, just having the function of helping the athlete to select relevant stimuli for sports tasks, facilitating the establishment of discrimination. The present study investigated the effect of isolated self-talk procedures on the acquisition of skills in simulated sports with seven adolescents with no prior experience in training with the simulated sports and / or equipment. We used the video game console Wii in skills training in baseball batting, and throwing the ball in bowling. The data suggested that participants who used the verbal procedures, showed superior performance compared to those who did not. We also performed a comparison between two different procedures for self-talk: differentially reinforced and instructed. We found differences in performance, but not as significant as the differences between the participants who took advantage of verbal procedures and those who did not

A iniciação esportiva tem sido foco de diversos estudos nas áreas das Ciências do Esporte e da Psicologia do Esporte. A aquisição de habilidades, como uma área específica, também tem concentrado esforços de diversos pesquisadores. A Análise do Comportamento aplicada a estes campos tem muito por oferecer. Estudos sobre comportamento verbal, especificamente, podem contribuir substancialmente para a solução de problemas na relação entre professores/ treinadores e iniciantes. Um procedimento, frequentemente utilizado e descrito na literatura específica é a auto-fala, que consiste em verbalizações emitidas para um falante, tendo ele mesmo como ouvinte. Ambientes esportivos costumam ser complexos, no que se refere à disponibilidade de estímulos, proporcionando dificuldades relacionadas à concentração. A auto-fala, como descrita e explicada na literatura, acaba tendo a função de auxiliar o atleta a selecionar estímulos relevantes para as tarefas esportivas, facilitando o estabelecimento de discriminações. O presente estudo investigou o efeito isolado de procedimentos de auto-fala sobre a aquisição de habilidades em modalidades esportivas simuladas, com sete adolescentes sem experiência prévia em treinamento com as modalidades e/ou com o equipamento. Foi utilizado o console de videogame Wii, no treinamento das habilidades de rebatida no beisebol, e lançamento da bola no boliche. Os dados obtidos sugeriram que os participantes, que utilizaram os procedimentos verbais, apresentaram desempenhos superiores, em comparação aos que não o fizeram. Também foi realizada uma comparação entre dois tipos de procedimentos de auto-fala: reforçada diferencialmente e instruída. Foram encontradas diferenças de desempenho, porém não tão significativas quanto às diferenças entre os participantes que se valeram dos procedimentos verbais e os que não o fizeram / The sport initiation has been the focus of several studies in the areas of Sports Science and Sports Psychology. The acquisition of skills, such as a specific area, has also concentrated efforts of many researchers. Behavior Analysis applied to these fields have much to offer. Studies on verbal behavior, specifically, can contribute substantially to the solution of problems in the relationship between teachers / trainers and beginners. A procedure often used and described in specific literature is self-talk, which consists of verbalizations issued for a speaker, and he himself as a listener. Sporting environments are usually complex, with regard to the availability of stimuli, providing difficulties related to concentration. Self-talk, as described and explained in literature, just having the function of helping the athlete to select relevant stimuli for sports tasks, facilitating the establishment of discrimination. The present study investigated the effect of isolated self-talk procedures on the acquisition of skills in simulated sports with seven adolescents with no prior experience in training with the simulated sports and / or equipment. We used the video game console Wii in skills training in baseball batting, and throwing the ball in bowling. The data suggested that participants who used the verbal procedures, showed superior performance compared to those who did not. We also performed a comparison between two different procedures for self-talk: differentially reinforced and instructed. We found differences in performance, but not as significant as the differences between the participants who took advantage of verbal procedures and those who did not

In the essay, "From Mimism to Music in the Child" (1935), Jousse, the French linguistic anthropologist, * describes the process whereby instinctive learning takes place and develops into cognitive motor skills in the Child; * traces the connections between the stages of learning and the skills acquired by the Child. These skills include gestural mimic imitation, drawing, listening, speaking, and musical expression; * makes specific recommendations about the process of teaching the Child; * relates the stages in the early learning processes in the Child to the development globally and universally of the anthropos; * demonstrates the relationship between Man and his fellows, both as individuals and as expression of cultural distinction, and between Man and the universe; * comments on the distinction between human and animal learning capacities; * explains the roles of key features in human expression; *explains aspects of cultural and linguistic change; * comments on cultural and linguistic change. In this research-essay, I am * attempting to clarify, in various degrees, all of the above: the learning issues receive more attention than do the rest; * attempting to identify the similarities and differences between the thinking and views on learning of Jousse with those particularly of Rudolf Laban, and incidentally of Montessori and Lenneberg; * demonstrating an 'Oral-Style text'. The Introduction to this research-essay summarises the thinking of Jousse and Laban. The Body of the study: * provides biographical information about Jousse and Laban; * explains the difficulties and problems encountered with the text of the essay "From Mimism to Music in the Child"; * comments on the nature and operation of Oral-Style texts and their cognitive and affective influence upon the reader; * contextualises and interprets the text of the essay, "From Mimism and Music in the Child". The Conclusion adds comments, and suggests areas for further study and investigation. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, 1995.

No description available.

The changing nature of work and its competitive characteristics are global phenomena and are mainly fuelled by ongoing technological advancement. This creates unique challenges for talent attraction and the retention of high performing individuals. In addition, the global workforce is becoming more diverse due to demographic, societal and cultural changes and companies are placing greater demands on employee competency and performance. Managing the human factor as a strategic asset in organisations remains a primary challenge in securing a competitive advantage. The road construction industry in South Africa is no different. There is growing competition between civil engineering contractors to secure tenders and to maximise profitability. This is only possible with a sufficient and sustainable labour force. Valid selection processes are therefore required to ensure that the most productive individuals are selected for the most suitable jobs. Reliable and valid performance predictors will assist employers in making appropriate selection decisions. Selecting high performing individuals will support and enhance overall organisational performance. ix In this study the investigation focused on whether psychomotor ability and learning potential are statistically significant predictors of work performance - with specific reference to drivers and machine operators in a road construction company. A quantitative approach was followed to investigate the relationships between variables, or then the prediction of one dependent variable (driver and machine operator performance) by means of two independent variables (psychomotor ability and learning potential). Results from the study did not indicate any statistically significant relationships between the variables. Only scientifically validated assessment instruments were used in the study - which means the findings led to a renewed focus on the importance of performance measurement and the psychometric quality (reliability and validity) of performance data. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)