Welford’s (1968) information processing theory is a cognitive approach to how the human brain processes sensory information and creates a response. Cognitivists are interested in the role of the brain in the learning and performance of skills (Mcmorris, 2004), seeing the person as a processor of information. Using the development of the computer as guidance in the creation of the model, the model itself is displayed in a similar fashion to computer programming, with the flow of information going through three primary stages involving perceptual processes, decision making and response selection and response programming and execution (Williams & Hodges, 2004).
Information from the environment, either called input or display, is categorised as two types of information; relevant cues and irrelevant cues. It is the role of the CNS to interpret these cues and decided which are important/useful; the interpretation of incoming information is called the role of perception, which helps focus attention on the relevant cues. With this, memory plays an important role, with Short term memory being where the ability to determine relevant cues happens. This is because past experiences are transferred from LTM to STM, forewarning STM of what is relevant and irrelevant. Because of the constant interaction between LTM and STM, with large amounts of information going back and forth between them, Baddeley (1986) referred to it as the ‘working memory’. From there, this then allows a person to selectively attend to the right cues, resulting in a decision being made about what action to make. Therefore, successful decision making is dependent on information stored in the LTM, as past experience allows the person to anticipate what is going to happen, allowing the player to make the correct decision and a correct response. For example, a goalkeeper defending a penalty will use the information processing theory to help make the right decision with how to defend the goal. First by subconsciously picking out the relevant cues, using the ‘working memory’ to filter information and compare with past experiences, such as the angle of the strikers hips and positioning of their feet, resulting in a decision made about which way to move, this then results in the CNS sending information to the PNS, organising the movement of the effectors (muscles).
Once the goalkeeper starts to move, this begins the final process which is feedback, this involves the use of information that is available to the performer during or after the skill is performed (Honeybourne, 2006). There are two types of feedback; open loop control and closed loop control. Open loop control system suggests that the performer does not have time to use feedback, because the action needed happens too quickly, therefore without the feedback the performer is “unaware” of whether the action was successful in achieving the environmental goal (Schmidt & Wrisberg, 2000). For example, in field hockey when a goal keeper has to defend a penalty stroke they will use the open loop control system, as they will need to anticipate where the player will place the ball and react before the shot is taken. Whereas the closed loop control system states that feedback is used to manipulate the action during the movement, with the use of error detection and correction process to get the desired goal. Closed loop control is normally used in slower movements, as there is more time for the performer to react to an error in the action, for example a hockey player may take a shot at the top of D, which is then deflected by another player, allowing the goalkeeper to use visual stimuli to choose a new response and redirect their movement.
Tulving (1985) stated that memory is the capacity that permits us to benefit from past experiences. Memory can be broken down into short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM), Waugh and Norman (1965) even referred to them as ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ memory.
Primary memory (Waugh & Norman 1965) or Short term memory, has a very limited capacity, with information running the risk of being forgotten unless rehearsed, as storage is very fragile within STM any distraction will usually result in that piece of information being lost. Information in STM is held for a short time, normally less then 60s, with STM generally only able to carry between five and nine separate items of information (Utley & Astill 2008). However capacity problems can be overcome with the use of chunking, which usually starts instinctively at the age of 7 (McMorris 2004). Chunking as described by Miller (1956), allows people to recall far more than five or nine pieces of information by grouping pieces of information together to make one ‘chunk’ of information.
Long-term memory is a more permanent storage area for information with no capacity limitations, with William James (1890) referring to LTM as ‘proper memory’. LTM is where information about past experiences is stored and where information which has been rehearsed enough is transported to from STM. Information within LTM is thought of to be permanent, some suggest that there is no forgetting in long-term memory, instead information just misplaced or difficult to locate, whereas others suggest that unless used, information will be lost (decay theory).
When it comes to coaching children in learning new skills, it is important to not give too much information as this will result in overloading, which happens when the information produced to the person is greater than the individuals STM capacity (McMorris, 2004), which is no more than five bits in 12 year olds and only three bits in 7 years old. The process of chunking can be used when coaching children, simply breaking down the learning of a motor skill into chunks, making it easier for children remember the sequence of the movement, and runs a lower risk of them getting distracted and not being able to selectively attend to the correct cues. As distraction will result in the effectiveness of the relevant information about the new skill being stored in the STM, which will then result in delaying the learning process and will affect performance. For instance, a football coach may break down the skill of kicking a football into four chunks- the approach, the positioning of the foot, the point of contact between foot and ball, then the follow through (McMorris, 2004).
When it comes to making sure children don’t forget the new skill they have learnt, a coach should encourage practising of the new skill, as rehearsal of the new information will make sure that it is transferred from STM to LTM, which will allow for retrieval of said skill in the future.
Fitts and Posner’s (1967) model proposes that there are three stages when it comes to the process of learning a new skill; cognitive, associative and autonomous. As the learner progresses through each stage they will not make abrupt shifts from one stage to the next, there is usually a gradual transition or change to the learners characteristics from stage to stage (Magill, 2007).
In the first stage, cognitive, the learner is preoccupied with trying to make sense of the instructions given to them and will use a high level of concentration. The performance will be marked with a large number of errors with high variability and little consistency (Utley and Astill, 2008). Mistakes are often made as the person will normally attend to irrelevant cues as well as relevant stimuli (McMorris, 2004), so clear instructions and feedback will help with learning the new skill. Some learners may use self-talk to help, using verbalisation to aid memory (McMorris, 2004). Even though the skill performance will have errors and the performer will not know how to improve by them, the improvement in performance will be quite large.
In the associative stage the individual has determined the most effective way of doing the task and starts to make more subtle adjustments to how the skill is performed (Schmidt & Lee, 2011). The performer won’t need to concentrate as hard during this stage and there will be less errors when performing the skill and the performer is more self-aware of the errors made and how to solve them. In the associative stage, the performer has learnt to associate relevant environmental cues with the movement required to achieve the goal of the skill (Magill, 2007) this is known as perception action coupling. The length of this stage is dependent on upon the complexity of what is being learnt (Fitts & Posner, 1967) and how much the skill is practiced.
The final stage, autonomous stage, requires a large amount of practice and can take many years for performers to progress into, progression into this stage is dependent on the quality of instruction and practice (Utley & Astill, 2008). The skill at this point is almost automatic or habitual (Magill, 2007). Performance of the skill is rarely effected by stress or distraction, however alterations of the skill can be difficult especially if the performer has developed responses that are inappropriate (McMorris, 2004). Performance of the skill at this stage is consistent with little variability, with the performer able to carry out other tasks while performing the skill.