Motor Control and Learning : a Behavioral Emphasis

Motor Control and Learning, Sixth Edition, focuses on observable movement behavior, the many factors that influence quality of movement, and how movement skills are acquired. The text examines the motivational, cognitive, biomechanical, and neurological processes of complex motor behaviors that allow human movement to progress from unrefined and clumsy to masterfully smooth and agile.

This updated sixth edition builds upon the foundational work of Richard Schmidt and Timothy Lee in previous editions. The three new authors―each a distinguished scholar―offer a range and depth of knowledge that includes current directions in the field. The extensively revised content reflects the latest research and new directions in motor control and learning. Additional new features of the sixth edition include the following:

• A web resource that includes narratives and learning activities from Motor Control in Everyday Actions that correspond with the chapters in the book, giving students additional opportunities to analyze how research in motor learning and control can be expanded and applied in everyday settings

• An instructor guide that offers sample answers for the learning experiences found in the student web resource

• New content on sleep and movement memory, the role of vision, illusions and reaching, the OPTIMAL theory of motor learning, the neuroscience of learning, and more

Motor Control and Learning begins with a brief introduction to the field and an introduction to important concepts and research methods. Part II thoroughly covers motor control with topics such as closed-loop perspective, the role of the central nervous system for movement control, speed and accuracy, and coordination. Part III deals with motor learning, exploring the effects of attentional focus, the structure of practice sessions, the role of feedback, theoretical views of motor learning, and the retention and transfer of skills.

Throughout the book, art and practical examples are included to elucidate complex topics. Sidebars with historical examples, classic research, and examples of real-world applications highlight the importance of motor control and learning research and bring attention to influential research studies and pioneers. End-of-chapter summaries and student assignments reinforce important concepts and terms and provide review opportunities.

The updated research, new features, and highly respected authors of Motor Control and Learning, Sixth Edition, provide a solid foundation for both students and practitioners who study and work in fields that encompass movement behavior.

Richard A. Schmidt, PhD, passed away in 2015, leaving a legacy of groundbreaking research in motor control and learning. He had authored the first edition of Motor Control and Learning in 1982; followed up with a second edition of the popular text in 1988; and collaborated with Timothy Lee for the third edition in 1999, the fourth edition in 2005, and the fifth edition in 2011.

Schmidt was a professor emeritus in the department of psychology at UCLA and ran a consulting firm, Human Performance Research, working in the areas of human factors and human performance. The originator of schema theory, Schmidt founded the Journal of Motor Behavior in 1969 and was editor for 11 years.

Schmidt received two honorary doctorate degrees, from Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium) and Joseph Fournier University (France), in recognition of his work. He was a member of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (of which he was president in 1982), the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, and the Psychonomic Society.

Timothy D. Lee, PhD, is a professor emeritus in the department of kinesiology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. He has published extensively in motor behavior and psychology journals since 1979, served as an editor for the Journal of Motor Behavior and Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, and has been an editorial board member for Psychological Review. Until his retirement in 2014, his research was supported primarily by grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Lee is a member and past president of the Canadian Society for Psychomotor Learning and Sport Psychology (SCAPPS) and a member of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA). In 1980, Lee received the inaugural Young Scientist Award from SCAPPS, and 31 years later he was awarded its highest honor, being named a fellow of the society. He presented a prestigious senior lecture at NASPSPA’s 2005 conference and received the organization’s highest honor, the Distinguished Scholar Award, in 2017.

In his leisure time, Lee enjoys playing golf. He has maintained a lifelong fascination with blues music and would one day love to put years of motor learning study into practice by learning to play blues guitar.

Carolee J. Winstein, PhD, PT, is a professor of biokinesiology and physical therapy at the University of Southern California, as well as in the department of neurology at the Keck School of Medicine. Winstein serves as an associate editor of the journal Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair and is a fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), the American Heart Association (AHA), and the National Academy of Kinesiology (NAK).

She has more than 30 years of multidisciplinary collaborative research experience focused on understanding rehabilitation outcomes and promoting optimal recovery of goal-directed movement behaviors that emerge from a dynamic brain-behavior system in brain-damaged conditions.

Over the past 25 years, her research program has been consistently funded through NIH, NIDILRR, and the Foundation for Physical Therapy. She has authored or coauthored more than 120 research papers, chapters, proceedings, and commentaries. Recently, the Journal of the American Medicaal Association published the results of her NIH-funded, multisite clinical trial of stroke rehabilitation. Winstein has mentored over a dozen doctoral students and postdoctoral scholars from diverse fields, including engineering, neuroscience, and rehabilitation.

In her free time, Winstein enjoys gourmet cooking and is pursuing her private pilot’s license to fly a Cessna 172.

Gabriele Wulf, PhD, is a professor in the department of kinesiology and nutrition sciences at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. Wulf studies factors that influence motor skill learning, including the performer’s focus of attention and motivational variables (e.g., autonomy support and performance expectancies). Wulf has received various awards for her research, including UNLV’s Barrick Distinguished Scholar Award. She served as president of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA) in 2015. She has been elected a fellow of the National Academy of Kinesiology (NAK).

Her research has resulted in approximately 200 journal articles and book chapters, as well as two books. She served as the founding editor of Frontiers in Movement Science and Sport Psychology (2010-2012) and the Journal of Motor Learning and Development (2012-2015). In conjunction with Rebecca Lewthwaite, Wulf developed the OPTIMAL theory of motor learning.

In her leisure time, Wulf enjoys golf, tennis, skiing, and photography.

Howard N. Zelaznik, PhD, is a professor of health and kinesiology at Purdue University. He is a fellow of the National Academy of Kinesiology, the Association for Psychological Science, the Psychonomic Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and he is an active member of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity. Zelaznik has served as executive editor for the Journal of Motor Behavior.

His research specialty is human motor control. Over the past 15 years, Zelaznik has developed, tested, and promoted a theoretical framework to examine issues in human movement timing. He has been funded for over 30 years by NIH and currently has an interdisciplinary project funded by NSF.

A former college tennis player, Zelaznik is still an active (albeit unranked) tennis player. He is an active road cyclist and former marathon runner. As his students continually tell him, he does not have a good sense of humor, although he loves to laugh.