Summary of Skill Acquisition
...e is the early stage when an understanding of the skill/task is tried to be formed. It is a process regarded highly as ‘trial and error’ phase, the participant will rehearse the skill may times. Ways in which the participants can be taught is through demonstrations, verbal instructions and physical guidance. Words or actions may be incorporated to act as cues for the participant. Information given in the practices should be minimal and useful so the participant can take all the information in. The associative phase is also referred to as the intermediate phase, it is a period where old habits previously learned are either disregarded or practiced again because they are successful. The big errors which would have occurred in the cognitive phase gradually reduce. The skills learnt become smoother and better timed allowing the movement to look and feel neater. The participant will gradually learn the complexities of the skill so the cue for the skill will not be received externally but come from within the person. The final stage – autonomous stage, the skilled movements become more natural and less influenced by the controls of other factors, like people watching, environment. The skill does not require as much concentration which allows a participant to perform it while learning...