Chapter 24 Further Reading: Physical Skill Learning

Foundational Research

Fitts, P. M., & Posner, M. I. (1967). Human Performance. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole. The original source of the three-stage model (cognitive, associative, autonomous) described in this chapter. The framework has held up remarkably well over nearly sixty years of subsequent research and remains the standard model for thinking about stages of motor skill acquisition.

Shea, J. B., & Morgan, R. L. (1979). "Contextual interference effects on the acquisition, retention, and transfer of a motor skill." Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 5(2), 179–187. The original contextual interference experiment demonstrating that random practice produces better retention and transfer than blocked practice despite worse performance during acquisition. The foundational study behind the variable practice recommendations in this chapter.

Walker, M. P., Brakefield, T., Morgan, A., Hobson, J. A., & Stickgold, R. (2002). "Practice with sleep makes perfect: Sleep-dependent motor skill learning." Neuron, 35(1), 205–211. A highly cited demonstration of sleep-dependent motor learning — the finding that motor skill performance improves after sleep even without additional practice. This paper is the empirical foundation for the sleep recommendations in this chapter.

Book-Length Treatments

Ericsson, K. A., & Pool, R. (2016). Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The accessible account of deliberate practice research, written by the researcher who developed the theory. The physical skill applications throughout this book are drawn from Ericsson's framework. Essential reading for understanding why "just practicing more" is insufficient and what distinguishes effective from ineffective practice.

Coyle, D. (2009). The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How. Bantam. A science journalist's account of how motor skills develop, focused on the concept of "deep practice" (practicing at the edge of ability, correcting mistakes in real time). The writing is vivid and the examples are memorable. Particularly strong on the neurological basis of skill acquisition (myelin and the role of correct practice). Good complement to the more research-dense sources.

Syed, M. (2010). Bounce: Mozart, Federer, Picasso, Beckham, and the Science of Success. Fourth Estate. A British journalist and former table tennis champion explores deliberate practice and what produces elite performance. Accessible, well-researched, and makes a strong case against talent mythology. Good general-audience reading on the science behind the recommendations in this chapter.

On Mental Practice and Imagery

Holmes, P. S., & Collins, D. J. (2001). "The PETTLEP approach to motor imagery: A functional equivalence model for sport psychologists." Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 13(1), 60–83. The original PETTLEP paper. This model operationalizes effective motor imagery in a way that is directly actionable for coaches and athletes. The seven PETTLEP components (Physical, Environment, Task, Timing, Learning, Emotion, Perspective) are described with their empirical rationale.

Driskell, J. E., Copper, C., & Moran, A. (1994). "Does mental practice enhance performance?" Journal of Applied Psychology, 79(4), 481–492. A meta-analysis examining the effectiveness of mental practice across multiple domains. The conclusion: mental practice combined with physical practice outperforms physical practice alone. Effect sizes vary by domain and the quality of the imagery protocol. Provides the evidential foundation for the mental rehearsal section.

On the Neuroscience of Motor Learning

Kandel, E., Schwartz, J., Jessell, T., Siegelbaum, S., & Hudspeth, A. J. (Eds.). (2013). Principles of Neural Science (5th ed.). McGraw-Hill. The definitive neuroscience textbook — not casual reading, but the source for the neurological claims in this chapter about procedural memory systems, the cerebellum, and basal ganglia. The chapters on motor learning and memory systems are authoritative.

Doidge, N. (2007). The Brain That Changes Itself. Penguin. A readable exploration of neuroplasticity, including chapters directly relevant to motor learning and skill acquisition. The account of motor learning in rehabilitation and the discussion of how practiced patterns become embedded (and how they can be changed) is well-drawn for a general audience.

Domain-Specific Applications

Noa Kageyama's "The Bulletproof Musician" blog (bulletproofmusician.com): A sport psychologist turned performance coach whose writing specifically applies motor learning and performance psychology research to musical practice. His posts on practice strategies for musicians are among the best available applications of the science to the musical domain.

Gallwey, W. T. (1974). The Inner Game of Tennis. Random House. An early but still valuable exploration of the distinction between conscious (interference) and unconscious (natural) performance in motor skills. "The Inner Game" concept anticipates many modern findings about the relationship between conscious attention and motor performance.

Wulf, G. (2007). Attention and Motor Skill Learning. Human Kinetics. Academic but accessible, this book covers the constrained action hypothesis — the research finding that external focus of attention (focusing on movement effects on the environment) often produces better performance than internal focus (focusing on body movement). Directly relevant to coaching and self-coaching for motor skill improvement.