Readings in Motor Learning [antikvár]

PREFACEAsk anyone for a definition of the word "learning" and see how many varied responses are offered. Preface that with "motor," "psychomotor," "perceptual-motor," or a similar term and the concept becomes more confused yet since "motor learning" implies different ideas to different people. Many researchers, practitioners, and laymen are concerned with learning in the psychomotor domain, but in dissimilar ways. The person's background and his field of interest will influence his conception of it. Thus, the engineering psychologist, the experimental psychologist, the military psychologist, the industrial psychologist, the physical educator, the special educator, the neuropsychologist, and the social psychologist all approach motor learning from different points of view so that their terminology, theories, practices, and research strategies also differ. In fields of study such as physical education, upper-level and graduate courses dealing with motor learning are being added at an enthusiastic rate in various universities throughout the country. Several psychology departments now offer a course in human motor performance. The content of all these courses leads to better teaching methodologies, in-depth theory analyses, and more sophisticated research undertakings on the part of the students.Although some texts are available for students interested in motor learning, very rarely are articles which contribute to a basic understanding of the field selectively designated as mandatory readings. Nevertheless, the more concerned and sophisticated student of motor learning needs to go beyond the summaries and interpretations of various articles found in the typical texts on the subject. He desires to obtain more precise knowledge about all aspects of learning. It stands to reason, then, that a book of such readings in the area of motor learning would be of value.The body of knowledge on motor learning is extensive, but without a common thread. This book attempts to organize the research in a meaningful way for the student. The examination and analysis of "classical" articles dealing with topics related to the learning process pose a challenge. The readings should reflect the efforts of representatives of the various disciplines and interest groups. Many apparent differences can be resolved by replacing unfamiliar terms with familiar ones, and analogies to skills of concern can be drawn. A major difficulty in the preparation of the book was identifying the parameters surrounding motor learning, and then, forming unified sections of the book. Another problem was in the selection of meritorious articles no simple task. With many good ones from which to choose, those ultimately incorporated in this book are indicative of my subjective estimate of quality work. The judgment one employs in selecting such readings is, at the least, open to question. The readings in this collection were included according to various criteria. One, the articles represented authoritative material in the areas related to motor learning. Two, they were, for the most part, indicative