STUDY GUIDE – TEST 1

 Characteristics of Motor Development

o Continuous process of change (to live, move, work)
o Age related (as age advances, development proceeds)
o Sequential (predictable patterns or steps of development, but the result is always unique
to the individual)
o Depends on the individual processes
 Definition of Motor Learning and Motor Control
o Motor Learning – the relatively permanent gains in motor skill capability associated with
practice or experience (motor skills that you have acquired, or learned, by practicing and
experiencing them)
o Motor Control – the study of neural, physical, and behavioral aspects of movement
 Newell’s Model of Constraints
o Looks at the dynamic and constantly changing
interactions in motor development
o Looks at individual and body systems that
constantly undergo age-related changes
o Emphasis on the influence of the environment,
task, and individual movements
o Movements arise from the interactions of the organism, the environment in which the
movement occurs, and the task to be undertaken
 Definition of Constraints: Individual, Environmental, and Task
o Constraints – a characteristic of the individual, environment, or task that encourages
movements while discouraging others
o Individual Constraints – a person’s or organism’s unique physical and mental
characteristics (internal)
 Structural: related to the body’s structure
- e.g. height and muscle mass
 Functional: related to the behavioral function
- e.g. attention and motivation

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 o Environmental Constraints – constraints related to the world around us (external)
 Global, not task specific
 Physical – e.g. gravity and surfaces; distance and weather
 Sociocultural – e.g. gender roles and cultural norms
o Task Constraints – includes the goals and rule structure of a particular movement or
activity
 Specific task requirements or goals
- External; NOT related to the individual
 Related specifically to tasks or skills
- Goal of: task – movement – activity
- Rules guiding task performance
- Equipment
 Theories of Motor Development: Maturational, Information Processing, Ecological (Dynamical
System and Perception-Perception Action)
o Maturational Perspective
 Motor development is driven by the maturational process, specifically the
central nervous system (CNS)
 Motor development is an internal or innate process driven by a biological
(genetic) time clock
 Minimal influence of the environment
- The environment can speed up or slow down the process of change, but
cannot change the persons biologically determined course
 Characteristics of motor development
- Qualitative: rate that a person passes through a developmental
sequence can differ for each individual
- Controlled by internal (genetic) factors rather than external
(environmental) factors
 Long-Lasting Beliefs of the Maturation Theory
- Basic motor skills emerge automatically
- There is no need for special training
- Mild deprivation does not arrest development
- The nervous system is the most important

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  Descriptive Methodology in Motor Development
- Normative
o Use of quantitative scores to describe children’s average
performance
o Looking at time, aging, and skill used to prescribe what is
expected of the child’s function and what to improve
- Biomechanical
o Biomechanical descriptions of movement patterns in
fundamental skills
o Information Processing
 Motor development in which the brain acts like a computer, taking in
information, processing it, and outputting movement
 Driven by external processes (nurture)
 Young adults often studied first as basis of comparison for performance of
children and older adults
 Support for learning skills helps them learn more and have greater success in
completing certain tasks
o Ecological Perspective
 Relates to the interrelationship of the individual, environment, and task
(importance of multiple systems)
 Two Branches
- Dynamical Systems: motor control and coordination
o Body systems spontaneously self-organize (not just CNS)
 Thinking how to adapt to and interact with environment
 e.g. walking on grass vs. sand
o Body systems, performer’s environment, and task demands
interaction
o Some systems may develop slower in the young or degrade
faster in the old, and thus control rate of development changes
o Development characterized by qualitative and discontinuous
change
o Change occurs across the life span

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 - Perception-Perception-Action: affordance and body scaling
o Interrelationship exists between perceptual and motor system
o Affordance – function an environmental object gives to an
individual – characteristics define objects’ meanings
o Body Scaling – object functions are based on individuals’
intrinsic dimensions, rather than object’s extrinsic, objective
dimensions
o The environment motivates child to move and learn
movements/motor control to complete tasks
 Both branches reject CNS as major controller for movement
 Control is distributed throughout the body at global (function or organs) and
local (fine motor) levels
 Changes that affect Individual Constraints: Growth and Aging
o Genetic and extrinsic factors combine to influence growth and aging
o We observe patterns in growth and aging
 Universality – patterns that hold for all humans
 Specificity – individual variation
o Educators and therapists can make tasks developmentally appropriate
 Sequential and Predictable Skill Acquisition
o The sequence of skill acquisition is predictable
o The rate of development is variable
 Periods of Development: Gestation to Late Adulthood
o Gestational/Prenatal Development
 Before birth
 Begins with conception and ends with birth
o Infancy – birth to 18 months
o Early Childhood – 18 months to age 5
o Middle Childhood – age 6 to puberty
o Adolescence – puberty to onset of adulthood ~age 20
o Young Adulthood – 20 to 40
o Middle Adulthood – 40 – 65
o Late Adulthood – 65+

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 Causes of Abnormal Development
o Can be genetic or extrinsic
o Congenital defects (present at birth) can derive from a genetic or extrinsic force
o Genetic abnormalities
 Inherited and may be immediately apparent or may remain undetected until
well into postnatal growth; may be dominant or recessive
 Can result from the mutation of a gene
 Effects on growth and maturation are variable
o Extrinsic factors
 Affect the fetus through nourishment or physical environment
 Teratogens delivered through nourishment system act as malformation-
producing agents
- Some teratogenic effects result from too much of a substance; some,
from too little
- Medications, alcohol, smoke
 Placenta screens some substance (e.g. large viruses) but not all harmful ones
 Harmful environmental factors include pressure, temperature, X and gamma
rays, oxygen-deficient atmospheres, pollutants
- e.g. birth affects/defects resulting from Chernobyl
 Tissues undergoing rapid development at time of exposure are most vulnerable
 Three Basic Rules of Motor Development
o Cephalo-caudal progression (head to tail)
 Baby gains control of head and neck movements, then arms and hands, then
trunk, and finally legs and feet
o Proximal to distal progression
 Develops control of structures close to their body; shoulder, then those farther
away, such as hands
o Gross to fine control
 Gain control of large body movements before they can perform more refined
movements

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 Role of Reflexes in Development: Primitive, Postural, Locomotor, Equilibrium
o Primitive
 Involuntary responses mediated by lower brain centers
 Function prenatally
 Serve to help the fetus position itself for birth
 Necessary for survival during the first few days
 Primitive reflexes vs spontaneous movement
- Reflexes are responses to specific external stimuli
- Reflexive movements are specific and often localized
- The same stimulus will elicit a specific reflex over and over again
o Postural
 AKA gravity reflexes
 Help the infant to maintain posture in changing environment (e.g. keeping head
upright to keep airway open)
 May serve later voluntary movement
 Occur after 2 months
 e.g. extending arms to brace for a fall
o Locomotor
 Three locomotor reflexes:
- Stepping
- Swimming
- Crawling
o Equilibrium
 Occur at 6 months and remain for life
 Action is subconscious, but unlike a reflex response, their movement response is
event specific and unique to each situation
- e.g. maintaining balance, weight bearing, moving center of gravity
 Spontaneous vs Reflexive Motor Behavior
o Spontaneous: movements not caused by known external stimuli
o Reflexive: stereotypical responses elicited by specific external stimuli

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 Purpose of Reflexes
o Built-in responses facilitate survival
o Reflexes allow a “dialogue” with the environment
o Reflexive movements result in sensory consequences (adaptation)
o Reflexes provide building flocks for future movement
 Reflexes Discussed in Class
o Reflexive movements occur quickly after the onset of stimuli
o They involve single muscle or a specific group of muscles (NOT the whole body)
o They cannot be extinguished at any one time
o Persistence may indicate neurological problems
o An instantaneous response
 No response =
- Too young to have developed reflex
- Delayed development
o Primitive reflexes later replaced by postural reflexes
 Definition of Locomotion
o The act of moving from place to place
o Moving on one, two, or four limbs
 Crawling, walking, running
 Hopping, skipping, galloping, using other modes
 Stability vs Mobility
o Stability – the state of being stable; not likely got give way; firmly fixed
o Mobility – the ability to move or be moved freely and easily
 Types of Early Locomotion
o Crawling
 Moving on hands and abdomen –symmetrically moving hands and knees
o Creeping
 Moving on hands and knees (legs and arms working alternately)
o Cruising
 Early walking
 Walking with support
 Side steps rather than forward so both arms and legs can provide support

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 o Walking
 Maximizes stability and balance over mobility
 Arms are in high guard
 Steps with flat feet, toes are turned outward, and feet are spread wide apart
 Rate controllers are strength (to support body on one leg) and balance
o Running
 Wide base of support
 Flat footed landing
 Leg extension at mid support
 High guard arm positions
 Stability over mobility
o Jumping
 Before age 2
 Either vertical or horizontal
 Early characteristics
- Jumping vertically only
- One-foot takeoff or landing
- No, or limited, preparatory movements
o Hopping
 Support leg is lifted rather than used to project body
 Arms are inactive
 Swing leg is held rigidly in front of body
 Development of Manipulative Skills: Types of Skills
o Ballistic or Throwing Skills
 Performer applies force to an object to project it
o Throwing
 Early
- Mostly arm action; elbow pointed up
- Throw executed by elbow extension alone
 Proficient
- Stance has more balance, momentum, and power
- Uses backward flexion to extension of arm

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 o Kicking
 Early
- No step is taken with non-kicking leg
- Kicking leg pushes forward, is stiff and passive
 Proficient
- Preparatory windup
- Rotation of trunk
- More power and force
- Arms move in opposition to legs
o Punting
 Early
- Short steps
- Arms down at side
- Kicking knee is flexed at contact
 Proficient
- Longer steps
- Kicking knee is extended more and hits toes on contact
 Examples of Fine Motor Activities
o Coloring o Pasting
o Drawing o Manipulating small
o Writing objects
o Cutting o Zipping, buttoning

 Types of Grasp
o Power Grasp
 Handle or object held tightly in the palm with the arm or shoulder producing
movement
 e.g. using a hammer
o Precision Grasp
 Involves the thumb and fingertips used to position or move an object
 e.g. maneuvering coins in grasp to put into a piggy bank

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 Example of Motor Control Deficits
o Initiate force for picking up or lifting objects before it is needed
o Delay in the increase of force needed once the object is lifted or moved causing control
to be difficult
o Response to slippage or an unexpected change in the position or orientation of the
object is slower and more variable
o Initiation of grasp reflex takes longer and is extremely inconsistent; results in fumbling,
dropping, or awkward handling of objects

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