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27 - Sport Performance

Motor Expertise and Observational Learning in Sport

from Part VI - Shared Representations in Applied Contexts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2016

By
Cosimo Urgesi  and
Stergios Makris
Edited by
Sukhvinder S. Obhi  and
Emily S. Cross
Sukhvinder S. Obhi
Affiliation:
McMaster University, Ontario
Emily S. Cross
Affiliation:
Bangor University
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Summary

The ability to form anticipatory representations of on-going actions is crucial for effective interactions in dynamic environments, especially in time demanding sports. Previous studies have shown that we use previous motor experience for predicting the future of on-going actions, thus building internal anticipatory models. Indeed, previous research with elite athletes has shown that they own a unique ability to predict the future of opponents’ actions compared to novices. The present chapter reviews studies providing this evidence, and clarifies associations between these superior perceptual abilities and differential activations in the motor cortex and in body-related visual areas. Hence, achieving excellence in sport implies not only superior motor performance but also the ability to read body kinematics and predict others’ actions ahead of their realization. However, motor and visual expertise may exert a differential contribution to the development of elite action perception abilities. In sum, while we need to simulate others’ actions to anticipate their future behavior, in some circumstances, for example when faced with deceptive intentions, we may need to flexibly inhibit such shared representations to favor a more abstract aspect of social perception based on visual models of others’ actions. These findings point to the need for complimentary use of motor and visual modelling strategies in sports training.
Type
Chapter
Information
Shared Representations
Sensorimotor Foundations of Social Life
 , pp. 565 - 587
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2016

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