Cognitive Issues in Motor Expertise

Book excerpt: The intent of this book is to describe those perceptual and cognitive components which contribute to skilled motor performance in a wide variety of disciplines, including sports, microsurgery, video games, and speech. Also considered are issues in the measurement of motor skill, the development of motor skill across the life span, and the importance of individual differences in the development of motor skill. Many chapters contain studies employing the expertise approach used so successfully to study cognitive skills in psychology. Using this approach, expert performers are compared to novices on domain relevant laboratory tasks in order to determine whether specific cognitive or perceptual processes are related to performance differences.This volume will be of value to kinesiologists, sport psychologists, physical educators, and cognitive psychologists who are interested in a new perspective on the nature of motor skills. The majority of the chapters include reviews of the literature necessary to understand the case being made. Thus, the book may be understood by any reader with a basic course in psychology or motor behavior.