Skill Acquisition Essay 2

-Discuss how information processing varies between individual, racket and team activities.

Information processing within sport is the process by which a performer performs an action or skill in response to his/her environment. The basic format of this system is as shown below;

               INPUT                 DECISION                 OUTPUT

The better known and far more detailed I.P. model is that of Welford (1968), which gives far more depth in terms of what occurs within the body:

Sensory Input

This is the information that is taken in via the senses. The amount to take in differs greatly between individual, racket and team sports. For example a team sport like rugby involves more opponents and team mates so more to take in, compared to squash and Thai boxing which has only one opponent. Also the intensity of the stimuli would have an effect, e.g. the green pitch in rugby to help contrast the players, or the brightness of a squash court and the red gloves of a Thai boxer all to intensify stimuli.
 Welford’s model also divides sensory input into 3 ways in which the info is taken in; Vision, Audition and Proprioception. The environments which these three sports are played are vastly different so these three sensory inputs may greatly vary.
 
Vision – Spectators at a Rugby match may all be wearing replica kits, so from a players perspective on the pitch to locate other players may become difficult, hence weakening the important stimuli. Also banners around the pitch may bare the same colour as the opponent’s kit and so may cause confusion by weakening the stimuli. Squash on the other hand has no direct view of spectators, only the opponent within a bright court, so this environment strengthens stimuli. And Thai boxing would have spectators, but within a white lit up ring with just the opponent and a very obvious black and white referee, so stimuli would be strengthened.

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Audition – A Rugby match is full of shouting both on and off the pitch as with most team games, thus resulting in a weakening of stimuli like the call of a team mate. Squash however is limited to silence from spectators and so the only sounds that can be heard can be used as stimuli, so it is strengthened. Thai boxing would contain lots of shouting from out of the ring, thus weakening stimuli.
 
Proprioception

  • Equilibrium – In amateur rugby, or perhaps some professional rugby, the pitch surface may be slightly uneven, or may contain ditches resulting in ...

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