Motor Control and Learning: A Behavioral Emphasis has proved itself to be a major text in the field. Now it has been completely revised, updated, and expanded in light of new concepts in motor behavior by two of the leading researchers in the field. New features include the addition of
• more than 450 references to research published since the second edition;
• completely updated artwork, including 42 new figures;
• new, practical examples from areas such as human factors, sport, physical therapy, and music; and
• a chapter on coordination research objectively presented from two different theoretical perspectives: motor programming and dynamic pattern theories.
The text's 14 chapters are organized into 3 parts.
Part I, “Introduction to Motor Behavior,” introduces the fields of motor control and learning, including a brief history, the tools of motor behavior research, the information-processing approach, and the role of attention.
Part II, “Motor Control,” considers various modes of control of the human motor system and presents findings on the laws of simple movements and on how multiple degrees of freedom are coordinated.
Part III, “Motor Learning,” addresses the learning of skills as a result of practice or experience. The focus shifts to the changes in skill, including experimental methods and design factors, topics related to conditions of practice, augmented feedback, retention, transfer, and theories of learning.
Motor Control and Learning: A Behavioral Emphasis includes extensive references, a glossary, both subject and author indexes, and comprehensive representation of the current state of knowledge in motor behavior. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the literature and do research in movement control and learning.
