The phenomenology of continuous improvement

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
John Toner ◽  
Barbara Gail Montero ◽  
Aidan Moran
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Conscious Processes

In this chapter, the phenomenon of continuous improvement is introduced and it is suggested that conscious processes play a crucial role in the maintenance and improvement of performance proficiency among skilled performers. This thesis is intriguing because it runs counter to a body of research warning us of the perils of thinking too much, or even at all, about highly practised movement. By contrast, it argues that continuous improvement is mediated by a performer’s ability to reflect and consciously guide their action during practice and performance. It critically evaluates some of the dominant paradigms in the skill acquisition literature, including information processing approaches and theories of embodiment, and explains why the book’s stance is intellectualist and pragmatic in nature. Lastly, it provides an overview of the remaining chapters in the book.

Explaining continuous improvement

2021 ◽  
pp. 197-210
Author(s):  
John Toner ◽  
Barbara Gail Montero ◽  
Aidan Moran
Keyword(s):  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Focused Attention ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Skill Maintenance ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Situational Demands ◽  
High Level ◽  
Conscious Processes ◽  
Automated Procedures

The final chapter synthesizes the arguments presented over the course of the book by suggesting that skill execution continues to be governed by conscious processes even after performers have attained a high level of expertise. It argues that skill-focused attention is necessary if experts are to eschew proceduralization and react flexibly to ‘crises’ and fine-grained changes in situational demands. In doing so, it discusses the role played by conscious control, reflection, and bodily awareness in maintaining performance proficiency. It suggests that skill maintenance and continuous improvement are underpinned by the use of both automated procedures (acknowledging that these are inherently active and flexible) and metacognitive knowledge. The chapter concludes by briefly considering how skill-focused attention needs to be applied in both training and performance contexts in order to facilitate continuous improvement.

Continuous Improvement

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Toner ◽  
Barbara Montero ◽  
Aidan Moran
Keyword(s):  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Attentional Control ◽  
Bodily Awareness ◽  
Abstract Thought ◽  
Methodological Approaches ◽  
Skilled Action ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Task Irrelevant ◽  
Conscious Processes

How do great athletes defy the power law of practice, according to which improvements in skill eventually plateau? To solve this puzzle, this book presents a theory of ‘continuous improvement’ which emphasizes the role that conscious processes play in maintaining and advancing skilled performers’ movement capacities. It argues that continuous improvement requires the use of processes such as abstract thought and bodily awareness in order to strategically alter and improve habitual movements in response to contextual demands. The book also elucidates a number of strategies that might be used to improve an athlete’s attentional control and help them switch their focus when they realize they have adopted task-irrelevant thoughts. Finally, it presents a range of methodological approaches that might be used by researchers to better understand the attentional flexibility that characterizes skilled action across training and performance contexts.

Approaches to estimating the efficiency and performance of the trade enterprise activity: modern view

2019 ◽  
pp. 71-77
Author(s):  
Lyudmyla Shymanovska-Dianych ◽  
Nataliya Pedchenko
Keyword(s):  
Market Economy ◽  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Modern View ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Enterprise Activity

In the article, the existing variety of terms of "efficiency" and "performance" is structured and the features of each concept and the differences between them are defined. The article proves that it is necessary to divide the categories "performance" and "efficiency" for trade enterprises. Each of them has an independent value, equally important for the evaluation of their activities, and can not replace another concept. The authors prove that in a market economy, when the results of the work of some market actors depend on the clarity and coherence of the work of other actors, the problem of efficiency becomes decisive. The article argues that the key to the success of any enterprise, including commercial ones, lies in the continuous improvement of the efficiency and performance of their activities, systematic analysis, development and implementation of measures aimed at increasing its efficiency and performance. The approaches to assessing the efficiency and performance of the enterprise, which most fully cover the key criteria for assessing the efficiency and performance of different enterprises, are analyzed. Despite the obvious differences below the described approaches, they do not exclude each other, but only characterize the operation of the enterprise from different sides. These approaches are based on certain indicators by means of which the analysis, comparison and evaluation of the enterprise is carried out. The authors prove that this system of indicators is not ideal and does not take into account all characteristics of trade enterprises, which influence the efficiency and performance of their activities. Therefore, they suggest expanding this list, adding such indicators as an indicator of the overall assessment of the economic profitability of a trade company, the indicator of the effectiveness of the use of retail space and indirect indicators of profitability.

scholarly journals Relationship of Limb Lengths and Body Composition to Lifting in Weightlifting

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 756
Author(s):  
Dafnis Vidal Pérez ◽  
José Miguel Martínez-Sanz ◽  
Alberto Ferriz-Valero ◽  
Violeta Gómez-Vicente ◽  
Eva Ausó
Keyword(s):  
Body Composition ◽  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Performance Indicator ◽  
Relative Length ◽  
Maximal Velocity ◽  
Anthropometric Measures ◽  
Positive Correlation ◽  
Level I ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Relationship Of

Weightlifting is a discipline where technique and anthropometric characteristics are essential to achieve the best results in competitions. This study aims to analyse the relationships between body composition, limb length and barbell kinematics in the performance of weightlifters. It consists of an observational and descriptive study of 19 athletes (12 men [28.50 ± 6.37 years old; 84.58 ± 14.11 kg; 176.18 ± 6.85 cm] and 7 women [27.71 ± 6.34 years old; 64.41 ± 7.63 kg; 166.94 ± 4.11 cm]) who met the inclusion criteria. A level I anthropometrist took anthropometric measures according to the methodology of the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK), and the measurement of the barbell velocity was made with the software Kinovea. In terms of body composition, both genders are within the percentage range of fat mass recommended for this sport. In female weightlifters, there is a positive correlation between foot length, maximal velocity in the Snatch (ρ = 0.775, p = 0.041), and performance indicator in the Snatch and the Clean & Jerk (ρ = 0.964, p < 0.001; ρ = 0.883, p = 0.008, respectively). In male weightlifters, a positive correlation between tibial length and average velocity of the barbell in the Snatch is observed (ρ = 0.848, p < 0.001). Muscle mass percentage correlates positively with performance indicator in both techniques (ρ = 0.634, p = 0.027; ρ = 0.720, p = 0.008). Also, the relative length of the upper limb is negatively correlated with the performance indicator (ρ = −0.602, p = 0.038). Anthropometry and body composition may facilitate skill acquisition among this sport population, contributing to increase the limited body of scientific knowledge related to weightlifting.

Maybe it helps to be conscious, after all

2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy F. Baumeister ◽  
Kathleen D. Vohs ◽  
E. J. Masicampo
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Human Behavior ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
The Unconscious ◽  
Unconscious Processes ◽  
Literature Reviews ◽  
Conscious Processes

AbstractPsychologists debate whether consciousness or unconsciousness is most central to human behavior. Our goal, instead, is to figure out how they work together. Conscious processes are partly produced by unconscious processes, and much information processing occurs outside of awareness. Yet, consciousness has advantages that the unconscious does not. We discuss how consciousness causes behavior, drawing conclusions from large-scale literature reviews.

scholarly journals Episodic curiosity for avoiding asteroids: Per-trial information gain for choice outcomes drive information seeking

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linus Holm ◽  
Gustaf Wadenholt ◽  
Paul Schrater
Keyword(s):  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Information Gain ◽  
Tight Coupling ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Trial Outcome ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Uncertain Outcomes ◽  
The Impact

Humans often appear to desire information for its own sake, but it is presently unclear what drives this desire. The important role that resolving uncertainty plays in stimulating information seeking has suggested a tight coupling between the intrinsic motivation to gather information and performance gains, and has been construed as a drive for long-term learning. Using a simple asteroid-avoidance game that allows us to study learning and information seeking at an experimental time-scale, we show that we can separate the incentive for information-seeking from a long-term learning outcome, and show that information-seeking is best predicted by per-trial outcome uncertainty. Specifically, our 43 participants were more willing to take time penalties for feedback on trials with uncertain outcomes. We found strong group (R2 = .97) and individual level (mean R2 = .44) support for a linear relationship between feedback request rate and information gain as determined by per-trial outcome uncertainty. This information better reflects filling in the gaps of the episodic record of choice outcomes than long-term skill acquisition or assessment. Our results suggest that this easy to compute quantity can drive information-seeking, potentially allowing simple organisms to intelligently gather information without having to anticipate the impact on future performance.

scholarly journals Sounds familiar(?): Expertise with specific musical genres modulates timing perception and micro-level synchronization to auditory stimuli

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Danielsen ◽  
Kristian Nymoen ◽  
Martin Torvik Langerød ◽  
Eirik Jacobsen ◽  
Mats Johansson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Hip Hop ◽  
Musical Training ◽  
Timing Perception ◽  
Nature And Nurture ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Musical Genres ◽  
Perceptual Systems

AbstractMusical expertise improves the precision of timing perception and performance – but is this expertise generic, or is it tied to the specific style(s) and genre(s) of one’s musical training? We asked expert musicians from three musical genres (folk, jazz, and EDM/hip-hop) to align click tracks and tap in synchrony with genre-specific and genre-neutral sound stimuli to determine the perceptual center (“P-center”) and variability (“beat bin”) for each group of experts. We had three stimulus categories – Organic, Electronic, and Neutral sounds – each of which had a 2 × 2 design of the acoustic factors Attack (fast/slow) and Duration (short/long). We found significant effects of Genre expertise, and a significant interaction for both P-center and P-center variability: folk and jazz musicians synchronize to sounds typical of folk and jazz in a different manner than the EDM/hip-hop producers. The results show that expertise in a specific musical genre affects our low-level perceptions of sounds as well as their affordance(s) for joint action/synchronization. The study provides new insights into the effects of active long-term musical enculturation and skill acquisition on basic sensorimotor synchronization and timing perception, shedding light on the important question of how nature and nurture intersect in the development of our perceptual systems.

Relating Goal Orientation to the Acquisition of a Complex Skill: Does the Context Matter?

2002 ◽  
Vol 46 (12) ◽  
pp. 988-992
Author(s):  
Eric Anthony Day ◽  
Charlene Stokes ◽  
Erich C. Fein
Keyword(s):  
Goal Orientation ◽  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Skill Retention ◽  
Training Outcomes ◽  
Complex Skill ◽  
Athletic Achievement ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Structure Accuracy ◽  
And Performance

The extant literature on goal orientation is primarily focused on scholastic and athletic achievement. This study extends the literature by examining the viability of three goal orientation dimensions (learning, performance-approach, and performance-avoid) as predictors of complex skill acquisition. Ninety-eight males participated in 7 hours of training in order to learn a computer-based task that simulated the demands of a dynamic aviation environment. Participants completed paper-and-pencil measures of global and task-specific goal orientation as well as a test of general cognitive ability ( g). Training outcomes included declarative knowledge, knowledge structure accuracy, skill acquisition, skill retention, and skill transfer. The results indicated that both performance-approach and performance-avoid orientations explained unique variance in training outcomes beyond that explained by g. However, both performance orientations were related to the training outcomes only when operationalized as task-specific orientations, not when operationalized as global dispositions. Learning orientation was not significantly related to the training outcomes.

An Integrated, Multifactorial Approach to Periodization for Optimal Performance in Individual and Team Sports

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 538-561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iñigo Mujika ◽  
Shona Halson ◽  
Louise M. Burke ◽  
Gloria Balagué ◽  
Damian Farrow
Keyword(s):  
Exercise Training ◽  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Performance Enhancement ◽  
Team Sports ◽  
Central Component ◽  
Recent Criticism ◽  
Psychological Skills ◽  
Altitude Adaptation ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Multifactorial Approach

Sports periodization has traditionally focused on the exercise aspect of athletic preparation, while neglecting the integration of other elements that can impact an athlete’s readiness for peak competition performances. Integrated periodization allows the coordinated inclusion of multiple training components best suited for a given training phase into an athlete’s program. The aim of this article is to review the available evidence underpinning integrated periodization, focusing on exercise training, recovery, nutrition, psychological skills, and skill acquisition as key factors by which athletic preparation can be periodized. The periodization of heat and altitude adaptation, body composition, and physical therapy is also considered. Despite recent criticism, various methods of exercise training periodization can contribute to performance enhancement in a variety of elite individual and team sports, such as soccer. In the latter, both physical and strategic periodization are useful tools for managing the heavy travel schedule, fatigue, and injuries that occur throughout a competitive season. Recovery interventions should be periodized (ie, withheld or emphasized) to influence acute and chronic training adaptation and performance. Nutrient intake and timing in relation to exercise and as part of the periodization of an athlete’s training and competition calendar can also promote physiological adaptations and performance capacity. Psychological skills are a central component of athletic performance, and their periodization should cater to each athlete’s individual needs and the needs of the team. Skill acquisition can also be integrated into an athlete’s periodized training program to make a significant contribution to competition performance.

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