Jonathan P. Maxwell

From novice to no know-how: A longitudinal study of implicit motor learning

The aim of this study was to ascertain whether the performances of implicit and explicit learners would converge over an extended period of learning. Participants practised a complex motor skill - golf putting - for 3000 trials, either with a concurrent secondary, tone-counting task (implicit learning) or without such a task (explicit learning). The cognitive demands of the secondary task were predicted to prevent the accumulation of verbalizable rules about the motor task. The implicit group reported significantly fewer rules than the explicit group on subsequent verbal protocols. The performance of the implicit group remained below that of the explicit group throughout the learning phase. However, no significant differences were found between groups during a delayed retention test. Additionally, for the participants in the explicit group only, a Reinvestment Scale score correlated positively with the number of rules accrued and negatively with overall putting performance during the learning phase. We use the results to argue against the excessive use of verbal instruction during skill acquisition, which might be unnecessary and ultimately might hamper performance under stressful conditions.

Benefits of an external focus of attention: Common coding or conscious processing?

Abstract We conducted two experiments to assess the effect attentional focus has on learning a complex motor skill and subsequent performance under secondary task loading. Participants in Experiment 1 learnt a golf putting task (300 practice trials) with a single instruction to either focus on their hands (internal focus) or the movement of the putter (external focus). No group differences were evident during learning or retention. Differences between the groups were only apparent under secondary task load; the external groups performance remained robust, while the internal group suffered a drop in performance. Verbal protocols demonstrated that the internal group accumulated significantly more internal knowledge and more task-relevant knowledge in general than the external group. Experiment 2 was designed to establish whether greater internal focus knowledge or greater explicit rule build up in general was responsible for performance breakdown. Two groups were presented with a set of six internal or external rules. Again, no performance differences were found during learning or retention. During the secondary task, both groups experienced performance deterioration. It was concluded that accumulation of explicit rules to guide performance was responsible for the internal groups breakdown in performance under secondary task loading and may be responsible for some of the performance differences reported previously.

Anger rumination: an antecedent of athlete aggression?

Abstract Objectives . The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between anger rumination (the propensity to think almost obsessively over past experiences that have provoked negative affect in the form of anger) and athlete aggression. It was predicted that high levels of anger rumination would be associated with an increased propensity to aggress. Method . A questionnaire comprising the Anger Rumination Scale ( Sukhodolsky, Golub, & Cromwell, 2001 ), aggression and demographic questions was distributed to 305 male and female competitive athletes of varying ability who represented several team and individual sports. Results . Principal component factor analysis revealed a single rumination factor rather than the four-factor solution previously described. No differences in Anger Rumination Scale score were found between males and females, team and individual sport players or competitive level. Provocation and anger rumination were significantly correlated with athletes’ reported aggressive behaviour. Aggression was higher in males compared to females. Type of sport was also related to incidence of aggression; athletes who participated in individual sports reported lower levels of aggression than athletes who played team sports. Conclusions . It was concluded that provocation and anger rumination were significant predictors of subsequent aggression and suggestions for preventing rumination, such as thought stopping and thought switching, were made.

Analogy versus explicit learning of a modified basketball shooting task: Performance and kinematic outcomes

Abstract The effects of differential instructional sets on motor skill acquisition were investigated using performance outcome and kinematic measures. Participants were provided with a single analogical instruction (analogy learning), a set of eight explicit (technical) instructions (explicit learning), or were not instructed (control). During a learning phase, participants (n = 9 for each condition) performed a modified basketball shooting task over 3 days (160 trials per day). On the fourth day, participants performed a test phase consisting of two 40-trial retention tests, separated by a 40-trial secondary task transfer test, and completed a verbal protocol describing in detail the techniques that they had used to perform the task. No performance differences were found during the two retention tests, indicating similar amounts of learning for all groups. During the transfer test, performance deteriorated for both the explicit and control conditions, but not for the analogy condition. Participants in the analogy condition reported significantly fewer technical rules. Although no group differences were reported for kinematic variables, identification of movement components supported the claim that explicit learners exert conscious control over their movements, whereas analogy learners use a more implicit (unconscious or automatic) mode of movement control.

Development and preliminary validation of a Chinese version of the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire in a population of Hong Kong Chinese.

I developed a Chinese version of the Aggression Questionnaire (Buss & Perry, 1992) by translating scale items into Chinese and subjecting them to standard validation procedures. I used confirmatory factor analysis via structural equation modeling to compare several measurement models. Models based on Buss and Perrys (1992) original four-factor (29-item) scale failed to replicate in the Chinese sample; however, the construct validity of Bryant and Smiths (2001) abridged version of the Aggression Questionnaire received strong overall support. The new 12-item scale demonstrated good fit to the data and adequate internal reliability. Evidence for criterion validity was provided by the scales sensitivity to differing levels of aggression in males and females. Convergent and discriminant validity received partial support from the pattern of correlations with a measure of anger rumination. Linguistic and metric equivalence were supported by high correlation coefficients between scores on Chinese and English versions of the scale completed by bilingual Chinese on separate occasions. Consistent replications of these preliminary results across three independent samples suggest that the Chinese version of the Aggression Questionnaire may be useful for clinical assessment and cross-cultural research.

A Cross-Cultural Psychometric Evaluation of the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale

The Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS) is a widely used measure of athletic identity (Brewer & Cornelius, 2001). Although the factor structure of the AIMS has been tested repeatedly in an American population, its psychometric properties remain largely unexplored cross-culturally. Therefore, the purposes of the study were to further test the psychometric properties of the abbreviated 7-item AIMS in an American population, while also exploring its utility cross-culturally. Results revealed the AIMS to be a psychometrically sound measure of athletic identity for male contact and collision athletes in both American and English-speaking Hong Kong Chinese populations.

Athletic identity and aggressiveness: A cross‐cultural analysis of the athletic identity maintenance model

Abstract Research independently examining athletic identity and sport aggression is quite extensive; however, the relationship between these variables has yet to be explored. Findings from both the identity literature and the sport fandom literature regarding team identification and aggressive fan behavior provides a foundation on which to hypothesize about the potential role athletic identity may have in the expression of athlete aggression (i.e., Athletic Identity Maintenance Model). Therefore, the purpose of the study was to examine the relationships among athletic identity, anger, and aggressiveness in competitive athletes and to assess cross‐cultural differences. Male athletes (N = 569) participating in contact and collision sports in the United States (n = 362) and Hong Kong (n = 207) completed measures of athletic identity, anger, and aggressiveness. Results indicated positive relationships among athletic identity, anger, and aggressiveness with differences in those variables found with respect to sport type and culture. Group comparisons yielded significant differences between lowly and highly identified athletes in both anger and aggressiveness

Cognitive demands of error processing associated with preparation and execution of a motor skill

Maxwell et al. [Maxwell, J. P., Masters, R. S. W., Kerr, E., & Weedon, E. (2001). The implicit benefit of learning without errors. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 54A, 1049-1068. The implicit benefit of learning without errors. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 54A, 1049-1068] suggested that, following unsuccessful movements, the learner forms hypotheses about the probable causes of the error and the required movement adjustments necessary for its elimination. Hypothesis testing is an explicit process that places demands on cognitive resources. Demands on cognitive resources can be identified by measuring probe reaction times (PRT) and movement times. Lengthened PRT and movement times reflects increased cognitive demands. Thus, PRT and movement times should be longer following errors, relative to successful, movements. This hypothesis was tested using a motor skill (golf putting). Furthermore, the association between error processing and the preparation and execution phases of movement was examined. The data confirmed that cognitive demand is greater for trials following an error, relative to trials without an error. This effect was apparent throughout learning and in both the preparatory and execution phases of the movement. Cognitive effort also appeared to be higher during movement preparation, relative to movement execution.

Unsanctioned aggression in rugby union: Relationships among aggressiveness, anger, athletic identity, and professionalization

Aggressive players who intentionally cause injury to their opponents are common in many sports, particularly collision sports such as Rugby Union. Although some acts of aggression fall within the rules (sanctioned), others do not (unsanctioned), with the latter tending to be less acceptable than the former. This study attempts to identify characteristics of players who are more likely to employ unsanctioned methods in order to injure an opponent. Male Rugby Union players completed questionnaires assessing aggressiveness, anger, past aggression, professionalization, and athletic identity. Players were assigned to one of two groups based on self-reported past unsanctioned aggression. Results indicated that demographic variables (e.g., age, playing position, or level of play) were not predictive of group membership. Measures of aggressiveness and professionalization were significant predictors; high scores on both indicated a greater probability of reporting the use of unsanctioned aggressive force for the sole purpose of causing injury or pain. In addition, players who had been taught how to execute aggressive illegal plays without detection were also more likely to report using excessive force to injure an opponent. Results provide further support that highly professionalized players may be more likely to use methods outside the constitutive rules of Rugby Union in order to intentionally injure their opponents. Results are discussed within the context of the increasing win-at-all-cost attitude that is becoming more prevalent in sport and its implications for youth athletes.

Attention and time constraints in perceptual-motor learning and performance: Instruction, analogy, and skill level

We sought to gain more insight into the effects of attention focus and time constraints on skill learning and performance in novices and experts by means of two complementary experiments using a table tennis paradigm. Experiment 1 showed that skill-focus conditions and slowed ball frequency disrupted the accuracy of experts, but dual-task conditions and speeded ball frequency did not. For novices, only speeded ball frequency disrupted accuracy. In Experiment 2, we extended these findings by instructing novices either explicitly or by analogy (implicit motor learning technique). Explicitly instructed novices were less accurate in skill-focused and dual-task conditions than in single-task conditions. Following analogy instruction novices were less accurate in the skill-focused condition, but maintained accuracy under dual-task conditions. Participants in both conditions retained accuracy when ball frequency was slowed, but lost accuracy when ball frequency was speeded, suggesting that not attention, but motor dexterity, was inadequate under high temporal constraints.