Motor behavior is the study of how motor skills are learned, controlled, and developed throughout life, informing better practice and teaching methods. It encompasses three subdisciplines: motor learning, motor control, and motor development, each with distinct goals and applications. The field has evolved from early research focused on cognition and neural control to contemporary studies aimed at understanding practical applications in areas such as sports performance, rehabilitation, and skill acquisition.

1. Chapter 08 Motor Behavior
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Motor Behavior
Katherine T. Thomas and Jerry R. Thomas
C H A P T E R
What Is Motor Behavior?The study of how motor skills are
learned, controlled, and developed across the lifespan.
Applications often focus on what, how, and how much to
practice.Motor behavior guides us in providing better situations
for learning and practice, including the selection of effective of
cues and feedback.
(continued)
(continued)
What Is Motor Behavior? (continued) Valuable to performers

2. and those who teach motor skills (e.g. physical education
teachers, adapted physical educators, gerontologists, physical
therapists and coaches)
Figure 8.1
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What Does a Motor Behaviorist Do?Colleges or
universitiesTeachingResearchService
Other research facilities: hospitals, industrial, militaryResearch
with applications related to settingGrant writing
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Goals of Motor BehaviorTo understand how motor skills are
learnedTo understand how motor skills are controlledTo
understand how the learning and control of motor skills change
across the life spanThree subdisciplinesMotor learningMotor
controlMotor development
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3. Three Subdisciplines of Motor BehaviorMotor LearningMotor
ControlMotor Development
Goals of Motor LearningTo explain how processes such as
feedback and practice improve the learning and performance of
motor skillsTo explain how response selection and response
execution become more efficient and effective
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Goals of Motor ControlTo analyze how the mechanisms in
response selection and response execution control the body’s
movementTo explain how environmental and individual factors
affect the mechanisms of response selection and response
execution
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To explain how motor learning and control improve during
childhood and adolescenceTo explain how motor learning and

4. control deteriorate with aging
Goals of Motor Development
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Motor Movements Studied Beyond SportBabies learning to use
a fork and spoonDentists learning to control the drill while
looking in a mirrorSurgeons controlling a scalpel;
microsurgeons using a laser Children learning to ride a bicycle
or to roller skate
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Motor Movements Studied Beyond Sport (continued)Teenagers
learning to driveDancers performing choreographed
movementsPilots learning to control an airplaneYoung children
learning to control a pencil when writing or learning to type on
a computer
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5. History of Motor Behavior
Five themes have persisted over the years in motor behavior
research
Knowledge of results (feedback)
Distribution of practice
Transfer of training
Retention
Individual differences
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Late 1800s and early 1900s: Motor skills to understand
cognition and neural control1939-1945: The World War II era—
great interest in motor behavior research1940s, 1950s, 1960s:
Glassow, Rarick, and Espenschade —research focused on how
children acquire motor skills
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History of Motor Behavior (continued)
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6. History of Motor Behavior (continued)1960s Memory drum
theory: Franklin Henry, father of motor behaviorMotor behavior
as a subdiscipline of kinesiology1970s to present The influence
of growth and maturation on motor performanceDevelopmental
patterns of fundamental movementsInformation processing
theoryThe study of motor learning and motor control in children
Focus of Motor Behavior Shifts
Initial focus was on cognition, biology, and military, not on
motor behavior itself.
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Focus of Motor Behavior Shifts (continued)Current focus has
shifted to motor behavior itself.Neuromuscular system controls
and movement repetition Potential treatments for diseases and

7. injuries such as Parkinson’s disease and spinal cord injuries
Performance improvement in sport and physical activity
Technological advances that allow for a focus on real -world
movements instead of movement invented in the laboratory just
for research purposes
Research Methods in Motor BehaviorTypes of studies
(experimental designs)Between-group Within-group
Descriptive (participants receive no treatment)
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Research Themes in Motor BehaviorPracticeFeedback:
Knowledge of results and performanceTransferIndividual
differences
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Motor LearningThe goal is to understand the role of practice,
feedback, and individual differences.Scheduling practiceContext
of practiceStudies have included the early stages of learning and
expert performers.Typical studies have used average or typical
performers doing novel tasks.

8. (continued)
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Topics studied include
Practice
Before practice
Goal setting
Instructions
Demonstrations
Scheduling practice
Context of practice
Feedback: Knowledge of results and performance
Transfer
Individual differences
Motor Learning (continued)
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Figure 8.4
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9. Motor ControlMotor programs are proposed memory
mechanisms that allow movements to be controlled.As motor
programs are developed, they become more automatic, allowing
the performer to concentrate on the use of the movement in
performance situations.
(continued)
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Dynamical systems theory has challenged the motor program
theory.Dynamical systems theorists believe that a more direct
link exists between perception and action, bypassing the need
for motor programs.
Motor Control (continued)
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Motor Control: Five Areas of ResearchDegrees of freedom:
coordination of movementMotor equivalencySerial order of
movements: coarticulationPerceptual integration during
movementSkill acquisition

10. Chapter 8 - Hoffman (2005)
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Developmental Motor Learning
and ControlThe goal is to understand skill acquisition across the
life span.Descriptive research includes baby biographies.
(continued)
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Topics studiedDevelopmental changes in the mechanics of
movementLife span developmentExperienceChanging
neuromuscular systems across the life spanGrowth and gender
in the development of overhand throwing
Developmental Motor Learning and Control (continued)
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11. Motor BehaviorImportant in all aspects of lifeInfants and
toddlers AthletesEmployment (for instance, surgeons) Important
to many professionsTeachingCoachingMedicineTherapy
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