ABILITY AND SKILL BASKETBALL TRIALS

Learning objectives understand what is meant by the term ‘skill’ be able to place skills into categories be able to analyse the factors underlying skilled performance understand what is mean by the term abilities understand the theories of ability understand the skill-ability interaction

Skill is the consistent production of goal-oriented movements, which are learned and specific to the task LEARNED CONSISTENT GOAL-ORIENTED SPECIFIC TO THE TASK

Measurement Some skills are best measured by outcome What they look like is not important Some skills are best measured qualitatively Whether or not they are aesthetically pleasing is the aim Measurement can be objective Measurement can be subjective Outcome is normally measured objectively and aesthetics (or form) is normally measured subjectively

Definitions of skill DISCRETE SERIAL CONTINUOUS JAVELIN THROW TRIPLE JUMP SWIMMING one action Several actions joined together No recognizable beginning or end

Definitions of skill COMPLEX SIMPLE LITTLE DEMAND FOR PERCEPTION AND DECISION MAKING GREAT DEMAND FOR PERCEPTION AND DECISION MAKING

POULTON’S OPEN-CLOSED SKILLS Open skills require perception and decision making The environment is ever changing Team games, tennis and other individual games are open skills In closed skills technique is more important than information processing The environment rarely changes or changes only a little from trial to trial Shot putt, diving This is a continuum theory but Poulton did not explain the middle of the continuum very well

Gentile’s classification of skills (adapted from Gentile, A. M Gentile’s classification of skills (adapted from Gentile, A. M., Higgins, J. R., Miller, E. A. and Rosen, B. M., 1975, The structure of motor tasks. Mouvement, 7; 11-28) CLOSED OPEN environment and object- no change Environment - no change; object moves environment changes; object static all change team games shot putt bobsleigh golf

Ability ABILITIES ARE BASIC INNATE ACTIONS WHICH UNDERLIE PERFORMANCE

General motor ability General motor ability determines individual’s prowess at all sports Research does not support this

Henry’s specificity hypothesis Abilities are specific and unique There are no relationships between skills

Fleishman’s factor analysis hypothesis Abilities can be grouped into clusters e.g., dynamic, static and ballistic balance Low to moderate correlations within a cluster

Psychomotor factors Physical factors 1. Control precision. (Control over fast, accurate movements that use large areas of the body.) 1. Extent (or static) flexibility. 2. Multi-limb coordination. 2. Dynamic flexibility. 3. Response orientation. (Selection of the appropriate response.) 3. Static strength. 4. Reaction time. 4. Dynamic strength. 5. Speed of arm movement. 5. Explosive strength. 6. Rate control. (Coincidence-anticipation.) 6. Trunk strength. 7. Manual dexterity. 7. Gross body coordination. 8. Arm-hand steadiness. 8. Gross body equilibrium. 9. Wrist-finger speed. (Coordination of fast wrist and finger movements.) 9. Stamina. (Cardiovascular fitness.) 10. Aiming. 11. Postural discrimination. (Co-ordination when vision is occluded.) 12. Response integration. (Integration of sensory information to produce a movement.) FLEISHMAN’S ABILITIES (based on Fleishman, E. A., 1967, Development of a behavior taxonomy for human tasks: A correlational-experimental approach. Journal of Applied Psychology, 51; 1-10.)

Superability A weak general motor ability We rely more on specific abilities Individuals’ superabilities vary

Ability-skill interaction Abilities underpin skill Different people perform the same skill in different ways

POWER GROSS BODY COORDINATION FOOT-EYE AGILITY REACTION TIME (a) SPEED (b) Example of how two professional soccer players (both wingers) used different abilities in order to beat an opponent

The skill-ability interaction is not static Moving from one level of performance to another affects the interaction Different abilities may well be needed The changing task model Development (during childhood and during ageing) means that we change – physically and cognitively The changing person model

Summary Abilities determine the individual’s potential Different skills require different abilities Two people can perform the same differently because they possess different abilities The individual’s abilities change over time due to developmental factors