Autonomously developing organisms face several challenges when learning reaching movements. First, motor control is learned unsupervised or self-supervised. Second, knowledge of sensorimotor contingencies is acquired in contexts in which action consequences unfold in time. Third, motor redundancies must be resolved. To solve all 3 of these…

Motor learning in the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) and eyeblink conditioning use similar neural circuitry, and they may use similar cellular plasticity mechanisms. Classically conditioned eyeblink responses undergo extinction after prolonged exposure to the conditioned stimulus in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus. We investigated the…

Mildly mentally retarded (N=36), moderately mentally retarded (N=39), and normal (N=37) adolescents were compared on measures of sensorimotor learning ability to determine whether retarded adolescents can learn to perform a vocationally meaningful task as efficiently as normal adolescents. Three measures of sensorimotor learning ability were…

In an effort to clarify understanding of the concept of critical learning periods, this paper discusses problems that people concerned with the motor development of children have had determining relationships between critical periods and learning, and a "readiness model" is offered as a solution that could enhance understanding of critical…

Man's phylogenetic development has resulted in a potential for environmental interaction in a symbolic and conceptual manner. There are ontogenetic requirements to develop such potential. The process by which man learns is sequential and involves perceptual-motor-cognitive abilities. There is an optimum respectivity period at each developmental…

Discusses the renaissance of motor skill acquisition studies that are affording new insights into the processes by which infants and children learn to control their bodies. The article explains how studies are now focusing less on how children perform and more on how the components cooperate to produce stability or engender change, thus making…

This book presents a comprehensive and detailed theory of early human development based on the principles of dynamic systems theory. It raises fundamental questions about prevailing assumptions in the field and proposes a new theory of the development of cognition and action, unifying recent advances in dynamic systems theory with current research…

The measurability of sensorimotor development in 60 severely retarded, institutionalized adults was studied, using the Piagetian concept of object permanence in a delayed recall paradigm that involved special apparatus. Results suggested, among other things, that severely retarded, institutionalized adults learn most efficiently when trained with…

This study continues the investigation of the general organizational plan used by good motor learners in acquiring a complex motor skill (tennis serve). The General Serve Problem Solving Model (GSPS), developed in earlier research, was utilized in an effort to improve and broaden it so that other types of learners may be studied and compared. Six…

The materials, methods, and mechanisms that underlie the learning and performance of motor skills are explored. This booklet focuses on concepts which can be used to enhance student learning and performance in physical education. The chapters consider such questions as, "What types of skills will I learn?", "Should I practice different skills in…

A research proposal to study the effect of multisensory teaching methods in first-grade reading is presented. The focus is on sex differences in learning and in multisensory approaches to teaching. The project will involve 10 experimental and 10 control first-grade classes in several Southern California schools. Both groups will be given IQ,…

This monograph is a progress report on efforts to develop curriculum theory for physical education. It focuses on the development of individual human motor performance and the utilization of selected movement learning media to achieve specified educational outcomes in relational perception and orientation in space. Concerned essentially with the…