1. Chapter 3
Motor Ability
Concept: A variety of abilities underlie motor skill learning and performance success

2. The Terms Ability and Motor Ability
A general trait or capacity of a person
Relatively enduring characteristic
Serves as a determinant of a person’s achievement potential for the performance of specific skills
Motor Ability
An ability that is specifically related to the performance of a motor skill
Each person has a variety of motor abilities

3. Abilities as Individual Difference Variables
Motor abilities establish achievement potentials for specific motor skills
Each motor skill requires specific motor abilities to successfully perform it
If 2 people have the same
Amount of practice
Level and amount of instruction
Motivation to perform the skill
Then - Motor abilities will influence the level of performance success each person can/will achieve

4. Abilities as Individual Difference Variables, cont’d
Two hypotheses:
General Motor Ability Hypothesis: many different motor abilities that exist are highly related within a person and can be grouped as a singular, global motor ability (Brace, 1927; McCloy, 1934)
Specificity of Motor Ability Hypothesis: many motor abilities are relatively independent in an individual (Henry, 1961)

5. Controversy About Relationship Among Motor Abilities
General Motor Ability Hypothesis
All motor abilities are highly related to each other
A person can be described as having an overall amount of general motor ability
Specificity of Motor Abilities Hypothesis
All motor abilities are relatively independent
Each person varies in the amount of each ability
A person’s motor ability can be described only by a profile of amounts of each of several specific motor abilities

6. Research Evidence Supports Specificity Hypothesis
Research technique to test the question of which hypothesis valid:
Correlate any two motor abilities
Each hypothesis predicts different correlation result – What are these different results?
Initial research compared RT and MT
Henry and colleagues (1960s) showed low correlations
See example in “A Closer Look” p. 40

7. Generality of Specific Abilities
Recent research has investigated whether variations of a motor ability commonly seen as “specific” actually represents one ability.
Two Examples
1. Balance as a motor ability
2. Timing as a motor ability

8. 1. Balance as a Motor Ability
Static vs. Dynamic Balance
Static – Maintaining equilibrium while stationary
Dynamic – Maintaining equilibrium while in motion
Two Research Examples
Rose et al. (2002) – Children with CP showed balance problems while walking but not while standing
Drowatzky & Zuccato (1967) – Correlations among various tests of static and dynamic balance typically ranged from .03 to .26 [See Table 3.1]
Conclusion - Research evidence indicates static and dynamic balance are distinct, independent abilities

9. 2. Timing as a Motor Ability
External vs. Internal Timing
External - Movement timing based on external source (externally-paced timing)
Internal - Timing of movement based on person’s internal representation of time (self-paced timing)
Conclusion: Research evidence indicates distinct timing abilities are skill specific rather than related to a general timing ability
See experiments by Zelaznik and colleagues – described in textbook

10. Identifying Motor Abilities
One example of an attempt to identify motor abilities
Fleishman’s Taxonomy of Motor Abilities
Described 11 perceptual-motor abilities
See Table 3.2 for complete list and definitions
Identified 9 physical proficiency abilities

11. Perceptual Motor Abilities
Multilimb coordination – ability to coordinate movements of a number of limbs simultaneously
Control precision – ability to make rapid and precise movement adjustments of control devices involving single are-hand or leg movements; adjestments are made to visual stimuli
Response orientation – ability to make a rapid selection of controls to be moved or the direction to move them in
Reaction time – ability to respond rapidly to a signal when it appears
Speed of arm movement – ability to rapidly make a gross, descrete arm movement where accuracy is minimized

12. Perceptual Motor Abilities (cont)
Rate control – ability to time continuous anticipatory movement adjustments in response to speed and/or direction changes of a continuously moving target or object
Manual dexterity – ability to make skillful arm-hand movements to manipulate fairly large objects under speeded conditions
Finger dexterity – abiity to make skillful, controlled manipulations of tiny objects involving primarily the fingers
Arm-hand steadiness – ability to make precise arm-hand positioning movements where strength and speed are minimized; includes maintaining arm-hand steadiness during arm movement or in a static arm position
Wrist, finger speed – ability to make rapid and repetitive movements with the hand and fingers, and/or rotary wrist movements when accuracy is not critical
Aiming – ability to rapidly and accurately move the hand to a small target

13. Physical Proficiency Abilities
Static strength – maximum force that a person can exert against external objects
Dynamic strength – muscular endurance used in exerting force repeatedly
Explosive strength – ability to mobilize energy effectively for burst of muscular effort
Trunk strength – strength of the trunk muscles
Extent flexibility – ability to flex or stretch the trunk and back muscles

14. Physical Proficiency Abilities (cont)
Dynamic flexibility – ability to make repeated, rapid trunk-flexing movements
Gross body coordination – ability to coordinate the action of several parts of the body while body is in motion
Gross body equilibrium – ability to maintain balance without visual cues
Stamina – capacity to sustain maximum effort requiring cardiovascular effort

15. Additional Motor Abilities
Static balance – ability to maintain postural stability on a stable surface or when not engaging in locomotor acitviites
Dynamic balance – ability to maintain postural stability on a moving surface or when engaging in locomotor activities
Visual acuity – ability to see clearly and precisely
Visual tracking ability to visually follow a moving object
Eye-hand or eye-foot coordination – ability to perform skills requiring vision and the precise use of the hands or feet

16. Important Assumptions of Taxonomy of Motor Abilities
All individuals possess these motor abilities
Iit is possible to measure them
It is possible to quantified the level of each ability in a person
low
average
high

17. Relating Motor Abilities to Motor Skill Performance
Task Analysis
The motor skill
The components of the skill
The motor abilities underlying the performance of the skill’s components

18. Tennis Serve Abilities Multilimb coordination Control precision
Grip Stance Ball Backswing Forward Ball Follow
toss swing contact through
Abilities
Multilimb coordination
Control precision
Speed of arm movement
ate control
Aiming
Static strength
Etc.