abilities to find meaning in confusion, solve new problems, recognize new patterns, visualize, quantitative reasoning

declines with age

rarely affected by brain injury

abilities to develop long term memory, vocabulary, language, reading comprehension

preserved with age

susceptible to brain injury

Prenatal: germinal, embryonic, fetal

Infancy: birth to 2 years

Childhood: 2 years to onset of puberty

Adolescence: 10 years for girls, 12 years for boys; prepubescence (2 years before puberty), pubescence (4 years of hormones), postpubescence (2 years until adulthood)

Adulthood: young, middle, young-old, middle-old, old-old

influenced by maturation and experience

unique to each individual

influenced by environment (65%) and heredity (35%)

growth

maturation

adaptation

learning

changes in physical dimensions; rapid during infancy and adolescence

produces physical changes that cause the organs and body systems to reach their adult form and function; influenced by environment

accomodation to the immediate environment; + example is antibodies to chicken pox; - example is delayed motor development of understimulated infants

relatively permanent change in behavior resulting from practice and may be considered an adaptation

assumption

implies that later development is dependent on what came before (Eriksons' theory that successful resolution of something is required to move on to the next)

assumption

can be thought of as quantitatively; postulates that there are qualitative changes that occur throughout development; at each new level of development a new skill can be observed

rapid progression to a skill followed by mastery of that skill followed by rapid progression to the next skill

hypthesizes that internal or external flucuations of nonequilibrium systems can pass a critical point and create order out of disorder through a process of self-organization

the child learns to adapt movements to the demans of the task and environment

ex, ability to fight gravity in order to walk

Thelen proposed that motor and perceptual dev. were related

1. Infancy - Trust vs Mistrust

2. Late Infancy - Autonomy vs Shame/Doubt

3. Childhood-preschool - Initiative vs Guilt

4. School age - Industry vs Interiority

5. Adolescence - Indentity vs Role Confusion

6. Early Adulthood - Intimacy vs Isolation

7. Middle Adulthood - Generativity vs Stagnation

8. Late Adulthood - Ego Integrity vs. Despair

explains observational learning

modeling is essential and a type of cognitive patterning

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (love --> self-esteem --> self-actualization

last stage can't be achieved without the one before

Bronfenbrenner

application of biological concept of studying organisms in their natural habitat

ex. family, community, culture all interact

linked to cognition

information processing and environmental affordance

B.F. Skinner, father of stimulus-response psychology

environment was the most influential factor in determining behavioral outcomes

no life-span view

believe all behavior is learned by observation and imitation and can be shaped by reinforcement

Gessell

correlate all movement acquisitions with the onset of changes in the nervous system (myelination) relative to the onset and integration of reflexes/reactions, hierarchy of control, and myelination.

Sensorimotor (Infancy)

Preoperational (Preschool)

Concrete Operational (School age)

Formal Operational (Pubescence)

Hayflick Limit Theory

Programmed cell death Theory

number of cell replications possible in life span was thought to be 50

apoptosis; telomere shortening decreases replication

if cross linking attaches 1 DNA = repairable

if cross linking attaches 2 DNA = inrepairable

with aging, 2 DNA linking is more common and over time impede cell function

collagen, elastin, DNA might be responsible for signs of aging (ie. tanning)

decrease in speed of processing operations leads to impairment in cognition

fluid and crystal intelligence

Disengagement Theory

Activity Theory

Continuity Theory

not normal; aging adults turn inwards as a means of withdrawal from family and society

engagement with people and environment leads to successful aging

most acceptable; utilizing life skills to tackle new challenges

MD:

Developmental Concepts

1. development is sequential

2. development is directional (cephalo-caudal, proximal-distal)

3. Mobility and stability contribute to postural control; mobility present before stability; positional stability uses joints and ligaments for stability more than muscles (ex. W-sitting); dynamic stability uses muscles (ex. quadruped).

4. Sensation --> reflex first, voluntary action later

MD:

Perceptual-Cognitive Theory

"sensory integration"--> perception and cognition

sensory integration problems - tactile defensiveness (hating being touched, even by clothes); gravitational insecurity (lacking the ability to interpret gravity)

Assimilation

Accommodation

individual's ability to organize; interpretation of external objects and event in terms of one's preferred way of thinking about them

ability to adapt; form of adaptation that involves noticing and taking into account the real properties and relationships of objects and events in environment

MD:

Fitt's Law

speed-accuracy trade-off

the faster the response, the less accurate

the greater the difficulty, the greater the movement time

child < adult > older adults

Thelen

movement emerges from interaction of multiple body systems; includes affordances provided by the nervous system.

Time frames: MD (month-years), MC (millisec), and ML (hour-days-weeks)

Maturation of Systems: MC improves as neural connections increase in number and mature, feedback loops refined, and neuronal group selection occurs. MD increases as the toddler learns (ML) more complex ways to ascend and descend stairs.

top-down

cortex->mid-brain->brain-stem-> spinal cord->DTR->prim.reflex

MC:

Open-Loop model

Closed-Loop model

Motor Program

Brooks model

without feedback; driven by central command or sensory information from periphery without benefit of feedback

with feedback; visual info. assiting in planning the completion of the movement or next movement

memory structure that provides instruction for control of action

Hierarcichal, motor programs, limbic system involvement, and closed loop feedback

MC:

Adams closed loop theory

Schmidt's Schema theory

feedback loops are essential and include intrinsic feedback from the body and extrinsic feedback called knowledge of results (criticized because no explanation of controlled fast movements)

an abstract memory that represents a rule, or generalization, about skilled actions or motor programs

MC:

Dynamic Systems Theory

and Assumptions

predominant model

1. neuronal group selection and plasticity

2. self-organizing systems play a role in activities

3. skill processes develop asynchronously, and non-linearly.

4. shifts from one behavioral mode to another are discontinuous.

MC:

hierarchichal

motor program

systems

chaining reflexes together creates complex motor behavior; brain cortex controller

movement patterns are hard-wired; Adam's closed loop; Schmidt's open loop

MC distributed throughout; solutions are unique to the task; motor pathways are soft-wired; maybe neuronal groups with motor plan

Degrees of Freedom: key task of CNS is to minimize energy expenditure by reducing DOF; DOF may increase after skill is mastered

Optimization: nervous system seeks increased efficiency in movement to accomplish goal within the task demands

Utilization of Sensory Info.: proactive control (anticipatory, feedforward) and reactive (after an unexpected stimulus)

MC and ML:

Neuronal Plasticity

Cognitive phase: discovery of what to do; finding best movement strategy

Associative Phase: mastery of how to do it; refinement and decreased variability

Autonomous Phase: generalization and adapting to new circumstances; decreased mental effort

conscious focus on movements to achieve goal; similar to Fitt's cognitive/associative phases

learning without focused awareness of the movement, similar to Fitt's assoc/auton. phases

1. Discrete - clear beginning/end; flip switch, sit-to-stand

2. Serial - have parts; getting dressed

3. Continuous - arbitrary begin/end; walk, swim

4. Closed task - environmental features remain constant, stationary

5. Open task - environment varies, people move, unpredictable

Levels:

1. Acquisition- initial performance while practicing task

2. Retention- performance following a time delay without practice

3. Transfer- performance of related, yet different tasks

Measurements:

1. Consistency- repeatability of performance; measures errors and successes

2. Flexibility- transferability; measures height/position

3. Efficiency- cardiovascular energy cost and degree of musculoskeletal coordination; meausres HR, BP, RR, time

structuring practice (amount/scheduling)

structuring the environment

performer reinforcement (feedback)

massed practice

distributed practice

shaping practice

random practice

blocked practice

practice>rest

rest>practice

practicing components with increasing complexity

task variation in sequence; better for adults

multiple trials of 1 task; better for children

whole practice

part practice

task specific practice

task is practiced as a whole, begin to end

components are practiced as parts to a whole

actually practicing the functional task or clearly related task

modeling

mental practice

therapist/peer shows the performer what to do

cognitive rehearsal and visualization of an action in absence of overt movement

intrinsic feedback

extrinsic feedback

concurrent feedback

how did it feel and look (proprioception, kinesthesia)

from the therapist/coach/teacher

info. given during task; may be helpful initially, but should be used selectively

knowledge of results (KR) - more frequent

knowledge of performance (KP)

intermittent feedback  --> less than 100% of the time

faded feedback --> freq. decreases over time

summary feedback - a summ. of "x" trials after "x" trials