Human Motor Control and Learning

Lecture 8:
Instruction and Augmented
Feedback

Dr. Nicholas T. Antony

Email: Nicholas.Antony@uoit.ca
 Lecture Outline

1. Demonstration
2. Verbal instruction and cues

3. Augmented feedback
4. The content of augmented feedback
5. Timing issues related to augmented feedback
6. Frequency of presenting augmented feedback
 Part 1:
Demonstration
 Introduction

Deciding which instructions to give to

people for helping them learn motor
skills depends on characteristics of the
skill and the performer
 Question?

How would you instruct someone

to kick a soccer ball?
 What is Demonstration?

Demonstration → ‘Modelling’
 Most common method of providing information to perform a skill
 An instructional strategy that encourages observational
learning
Results from the observation of a person (or people) performing or
learning a skill

Question of Interest?
 When is demonstration a more effective instructional strategy
than some other way to give information about how to perform
a skill?
 What does the Observer Perceive from a
Demonstration?

 Recent studies ‘prove’ that demonstration is only most effective under certain
circumstances
• Therefore research has been focused on determining ‘when to use demonstration’

What does the observer perceive from a demonstration?

 Answer → Observer perceives the invariant features of the movement pattern

 Two types of research support this:

1. Visual perception of biological motion
2. Changes in the learner’s coordination after observing a demonstration
 Visual Perception of Biological Motion

Point-light Technique
 Procedure recording a
performer wearing lights
or light-reflecting markers
on their joints

 Researchers play the film

for subjects

 People can accurately

label different movement
patterns (ex. gait)
• People perceive relative
motion

14-8
 Demonstration in Learning a
Complex Skill

Schoendelder-Zohdi (1992)
 Research showed that a
learners relative pattern of
motion will change after
skilled demonstration

 Participants learned to
control a ‘slalom ski
simulator’

 Learners who observed a

skilled demonstration
developed coordinated
movement patterns earlier
in practice
 What Information Should be Conveyed by a
Demonstration?

 It is not clear what the most important component of a

demonstration should be…
We do know - relative motion picked up from demonstrations…

Coordination changes have been documented when learners

view full-body demonstrations

Coordination changes also documented when movement effects

or only the end-point of a limb is viewed

Appropriate information is likely specific to the task and the learner

 The Influence of
Skill Characteristics

Conclusion…

 Research shows that the influence of demonstration

on skill acquisition depends on characteristics of the
skill being learned

 Demonstration leads to better learning than other

instruction forms when the skill being learned requires
the acquisition of a new pattern of coordination
 Neural Basis for Observational Learning

Mirror Neurons
 Research has identified a specific class of neurons in the brain that are activated
while observing a demonstration

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xmx1qPyo8Ks

Evidence from fMRI based research

 Several studies show activation of premotor
area and inferior frontal gyrus during observation

 Zentgraf et al. (2005) study with

gymnasts
• Observation + visualization generated activity
in the SMA
• Observation only activated pre-SMA
 Observing Skilled Demonstrations
 Guiding principle → It is important that the
demonstrator should perform the skill “correctly”

 Quality of the learner’s attempt at the skill is likely

constrained by the quality of the demonstration

 The learner can copy successful strategies of correct

demonstration

http://www.sportsnationvideo.com/
http://www.global-fitness.com/strength/s_video.html
 Can Novices Benefit from Observing Other
Novices?

Research shows that beginners can benefit from

observing other beginners practice a skill

How can this improve learning?

Observer can learn which unsuccessful strategies to avoid

Encourages the observer to engage in more active

problem solving
 Timing and Frequency of Demonstrating a Skill

When and how frequently should a demonstration be given?

 Demonstration should precede practice

• Provides an effective means of demonstrating the successful
movement pattern

 Instructor should continue to demonstrate during practice as

frequently as necessary

 Give learners opportunities to self-select when they receive

demonstrations
 Timing and Frequency of Demonstrating a Skill

Weeks and Anderson (2000)

 Investigated the issue of the timing of demonstrations

 Had participants learn overhead volleyball serve

• Observed video of 10 demonstrations and then learner
attempted 30 serves

 3 groups:
• All-prepracticed: all demonstrations before attempts
• Interspersed: series of 1 demonstration then 3 attempts
• Combination: series of 5 demonstrations then 15 attempts

 Results showed greatest benefit of all-prepractice and

combination group

Indicates that several demonstrations should

precede practice
 How Does Observing Demonstrations Influence
Learning?

Two Primary Theories:

1. Cognitive Mediation Theory
 Observed movements are translated into a symbolic memory
code (stored memory representation) that is used to guide
performance

2. Dynamic View of Modeling

 The visual system automatically picks up important information
(invariant features) from the demonstration and constrains the
motor control system to act accordingly without the need of a
memory representation
 Potential Downsides to Demonstration

Question: Are there any potential downsides to

demonstration?

 Unlikely that there is an ‘ideal’ movement form

appropriate for all learners

 Using other people’s solutions to movement

problems can make learners less effective
problem solvers
Inhibiting ‘learning to learn’
 Part 2:
Verbal Instruction and Cues
 Verbal Instructions and Cues

Verbal instructions rank with

demonstration as a commonly used means
of communicating how to perform motor
skills

14-20
 Verbal Instructions and Attention
Important factors to consider with attention…

a) Amount of verbal instruction should consider attention and

working memory limits
• Working memory capacity 7±2 items
• Use minimal amount of verbal information to NOT exceed attention limits

b) Focus instructions on movement outcomes

• Internal focus constrains the motor system resulting in a disruption of the
automatic motor control processes (action effect hypothesis)
• See next slide
 Verbal Instructions and Cues
Wulf and Weigelt (1997)

 Participants practiced the slalom-ski simulator

• Everyone told the goal was to move the platform as far to the left and right for 90 seconds
• Experimental group instructed to attempt to ‘apply force to platform as you cross center’ (concentrating on
movements)

 Results show that additional movement attention directing instructions led to poorer performance
• Follow up study (right) indicated internal movement focus led to poorer performance with introduction
after 3 days practice
 Verbal Instructions and Cues
 Use verbal analogies where possible
• Analogies help us comprehend something we have not encountered before
• Metaphoric imagery assists memory (Lecture 6)
• Encourage implicit learning

 Focus attention on important environmental context regulatory conditions

• See next slide
• We can facilitate learning by giving instructions that would make people aware of
relevant environmental cues

 Give verbal instructions that influence goal achievement strategies

• Speed and accuracy → initial practice for a speed/accuracy skill should emphasize
movement accuracy and later emphasis on the speed component
 Verbal Instructions and Cues
Magill et al. (1999)
 Had participants learn a 60 sec target
pursuit task with level

 First 20 sec of each trial was identical

• All participants instructed to follow cursor
as closely as possible

 Results indicate learners performed

significantly better on initial segment and
NOT others
• Completely unaware the initial segment was
the same for each trial
• Lack of conscious awareness of invariant
features is example of implicit learning
 Verbal Cues
Verbal cues should be short, concise phrases that:

a) Direct attention to specific environmental context

features

b) Prompt a specific movement or sequence of

movements
 Verbal Cues
Verbal cues can be used in several different ways:

a) Verbal cues and demonstration – aid in directing important parts of

demonstration

b) Verbal cues that focus attention while performing – helps learners

focus on critical parts of skills

c) Verbal cues as prompts – can have learner can prompt themselves to

attend or perform to key aspects of skills

d) Verbal cues aid skilled performance – has been demonstrated that the
addition of cues can improve performance of skilled athletes
 Clinical Application of Demonstration

Points for the practitioner:

 Demonstration by a skilled model have their greatest influence on skill learning when the skill
requires the learning of a new coordination pattern

 People who are in the initial stage of learning can benefit from observing others who are also
novices
• Can have people practicing and observing in groups

 Frequent demonstrations result in better learning

 Visual/verbal cues should be simple and focus on critical aspects of the skill

 Verbal instructions should contain the minimal amount of instructions

• Focus on goal not specific movements

 Emphasize form (accuracy) before speed

 Part 3:
Augmented Feedback
 Augmented Feedback

Concept: Augmented feedback

provides information that can
facilitate skill learning
 Two Types of Performance-Related Information
(Feedback)

People have two general types of performance-related

information (feedback) when performing a motor skill

1. Task-intrinsic feedback
 Sensory or perceptual information that is naturally available when
performing a skill

2. Augmented feedback
 Performance related information that is ADDED to task-intrinsic
feedback
• Typically comes from an external source
• Enhances the task-intrinsic feedback
Performance-Related Feedback
 Two Types of
Augmented Feedback

1. Knowledge of Results (KR)

• Externally presented information about the
outcome of an attempt to perform a skill

2. Knowledge of Performance (KP)

• Externally presented information about
movement characteristics that led to the
performance outcome
 Examples of KR and KP
• Golf instructor
KR: Your shot went into the right rough
KP: You began your downswing before you finished your
backswing

• Physical Therapist
KR: You walked 10 feet further today than yesterday
KP: You should bend your knees more as you walk

Video replay is a popular method of showing a person what

they did while performing a skill
 The Roles of Augmented Feedback in Skill
Acquisition

Augmented feedback plays two roles in skill learning:

a) Provides information that facilitates achievement of

the goal of the skill
 Learner can determine whether they are doing the
appropriate movements for achievement of goal

b) Motivates the learner to continue striving toward a

goal
 Positive feedback is useful for performer encouragement
 How Essential is Augmented Feedback for Skill
Learning?
 It can be essential for skill learning
• Essential in situation where performer cannot use task intrinsic feedback
Cannot see target or goal
Performer injury or disease must use substitute feedback
If performer cannot utilize available task-intrinsic feedback (beginners)

 It may not be necessary for skill learning

• Applies to situations where the motor skills inherently provide sufficient task-intrinsic feedback

It can enhance skill learning

• Performer will learn skill more quickly or perform at a higher level with introduction of
augmented feedback (next slide)

 It can hinder or slow skill learning

 Situations where learner becomes dependent on augmented feedback (practice specificity
hypothesis from Lecture 7)
 Augmented Feedback can Enhance Learning

Wallace & Hagler (1979)

 Study investigated the use of
verbal KP on learning

 Participants learned a one-

hand basketball shot with
non-dominant hand
• After each shot, one group
received verbal KP from coach
and other group only received
encouragement

 Verbal KP group showed

better improvement
 Part 4:
The Content of Augmented
Feedback
KR and KP Must be Meaningful to the Learner
 The Content of Augmented Feedback
Five issues related to augmented feedback content:

1. Information about errors vs. correct aspects of performance

• Error information is more effective for facilitating skill learning to correct movement pattern
• Correct aspects of movement serve motivational role in beginners

2. KR vs. KP
• KR is important for learning to:
a) provide motivation
b) confirm learners own self-assessment of performance
c) to ensure learners adapt external focus of attention
d) provide a ‘discovery learning’ practice environment

• KP is important when motor skills require specific coordination

o Ex. Gymnastics, dancing etc.
 The Content of Augmented Feedback

3. Qualitative vs. quantitative information

• Qualitative feedback best in the early stage of learning as performers are
developing gross motor pattern
• Quantitative feedback best for learners to refine movements once “ballpark”
has been achieved

4. Augmented feedback based on error size

• Best to provide feedback only when errors are large
• Performance bandwidths: when instructors and researchers use performance error
tolerance limits specifying when to provide feedback

5. Erroneous augmented feedback

• Important when providing feedback with skills that DO NOT require it
 Erroneous feedback

Buekers et al. (1992)

 Anticipation timing task

 One group received

erroneous KR

 Results show that

performance of correct KR
and no KR groups did not differ in retention tests

 Erroneous KR led participants to learn to perform according to the KR rather

then task-intrinsic feedback
 Types of KP
a) Verbal KP → useful to improve movement
characteristics

 Provide feedback for only the most critical aspects

• Descriptive KP: describes only the error a person has made
o Sufficient for advanced performer

• Prescriptive KP: describes errors made during the performance

and ‘prescribes’ what needs to be done to correct
o More helpful for beginners
 Types of KP

b) Video replay: commonly used but it is

important to know how to use most effectively

• Dependent on skill level of learner; with beginners

needing instructors to point out critical information
(in 2 slides)

• Only appropriate for visual performance features

 Types of KP
c) Movement kinetics and kinematics: Technologies asses
performers movement and use signal to indicate feedback
• Has been shown to be dramatically useful in facilitating motor skill
learning and improvement
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H_3c2kRl2c

d) Biofeedback: refers to an augmented form of task-intrinsic

feedback related to the activity of physiological processes
(ex. Heart rate, blood pressure, EMG)
• Common uses in physical rehabilitation settings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zibNKUXCTGQ
 Video Replay
Guadagnoli et al. (2002)
 Study involved teaching
moderately skilled golfers to
hit with distance and accuracy

 Compared video replay as KP

to verbal KP and no KP

 Demonstrated the
effectiveness of video replay
as KP
• Video KP performed better in
retention tests and hit the least
amount of balls during practice
 Movement Kinetics and Kinematics as Augmented
Feedback
Lindahl (1945)

 Classic paper investigated methods used

to train industrial machine operators
with machines that used coordinated
use of feet and hands

 Researchers created a paper tracing of

the machines proper foot movement
(augmented feedback)

 Results indicated the introduction of

augmented feedback allowed workers to
be trained in 11 weeks versus 5 months
 Part 5:
Timing Issues Related to Augmented
Feedback
 Concurrent Augmented Feedback

Question: is it better to provide feedback

while a person is performing a skill or at
the end of a practice attempt?
 Concurrent Augmented Feedback
Concurrent augmented feedback is provided while a person is
performing a skill

 Concurrent augmented feedback can:

• Have a negative effect on learning (dependency)
• Enhance learning – when task-intrinsic feedback is difficult to obtain
(ex. rehabilitation)

 To be used effectively, concurrent feedback must only assist

performers on learning how the task-intrinsic feedback is
involved in the motor skill
 Concurrent vs. Terminal Feedback
Vander Linden et al. (1993): compared concurrent versus terminal feedback in
learning an elbow flexion task
• Concurrent group performed better in practice but worse in retention tests
without feedback
 Terminal Augmented Feedback
Terminal augmented feedback: is provided after a person has completed the
performance of a skill

 Two intervals of time

1. KR delay interval – time between skill completion and KR
2. Post KR interval – time between KR and beginning next trial
• Both require a minimum length of time
• Engaging in activity during these intervals can hinder, benefit, or have no effect upon skill
learning
 Estimating errors
Swinnen (1990)
 Demonstrated how terminal
feedback can enhance learning

 Had participants either:

1. Estimating their own performance
outcome errors
2. Estimating performance outcome
error of another performer

 Group estimating own errors performed better

 Research led to development of Subjective Performance Evaluation

Results in the facilitating of the error detection capabilities that are occurring
during KR delay (early stage of learning)
 Trials-Delay KR
Anderson et al. (1994)
 Demonstrated the beneficial
effects of delaying a trial’s KR for
two trials compared to
presenting KR after each trial

 Results showed that the trial

delay condition hindered
performance during practice but
led to better performance during
on a 24 hour retention test
 Part 6:
Frequency of Presenting Augmented
Feedback
 Frequency of Presenting Augmented Feedback

How often should learners be presented with

augmented feedback?

 Traditional view – 100% frequency (augmented

feedback every trial) is best for learning

 Contemporary view – Less than 100% frequency

is best
 Reduced Frequency Benefit
Winstein and Schmidt (1990)
 Investigated concept that optimal
frequency for giving augmented feedback
is less than 100%

 Had participants practice a complex

movement pattern by moving lever on
tabletop to manipulate computer monitor
• One group received KR after each trial
• Other group received KR after 50% of trial
using fading technique (reduced KR frequency
with time)

 Results showed that the 50% KR group

preformed significantly better on
retention tests
 Techniques that Reduce Frequency Augmented
Feedback

a) Performance-based bandwidths (discussed earlier)

• Allows individualized systematic reduction of frequency of augmented
feedback as the performer improves

b) Self-selected schedules
• Allowing performer to receive feedback whenever requested
• Allows learners to engage in own problem solving strategies
• Evidence that learners use feedback as motivation

c) Summary and averaged augmented feedback

• Provided a listing or summary of trial performance after a certain number
of trials (next slide)
 Summary Augmented Feedback
Schmidt et al. (1989)
 Compared different summary
augmented feedback values in
learning to move a lever along a track
way

 Participants received feedback after

every trial or in summary after 5, 10
or 15 trials

 Results showed summary 15 group

performed best on retention test two
days later
 Feedback after every trial group
performed worst
 Theoretical Basis for Reduced Frequency Benefit

 Guidance Hypothesis suggests that augmented feedback on

every trial guides the learner to successful performance, but
results in poor learning
• Learners become dependent on augmented feedback which leads to
poor performance when feedback withdrawn

 Feedback after every trial may lead to attention-capacity

“overload”

 Receiving feedback less frequently causes learner to engage in

movement problem solving activities
 Clinical Application of Augmented Feedback

Points for the practitioner:

 Determine the verbal KP to give according to the most critical error made during practice (based
most important aspects of specific motor skill)

 Prescriptive verbal KP is better than descriptive KP for beginners

 Video replays can be effective as augmented feedback for beginners if you point out the errors
and provide information on how to correct them

 When coaching or instructing, do not provide feedback after every attempt. This will allow
opportunities for leaners to focus on own task-intrinsic feedback and engage in problem solving

 Allow people you are instructing to:

• Determine when they would like feedback
• Indicate what movement errors they made and how they should correct them