Imitation learning theory
Imitation is the basis of human learning. It is done first by sight and then by reproduction. A good visual example is very useful in ski learning. The functioning system of mirror neurons seems to be, according to several studies, the basis of learning by imitation. From infancy we learn much of what we know by observing the environment and the behavior of others. Following others or copying their movements is learning by imitation.
Imitation means adopting, consciously or unconsciously, the attitudes or behaviors of someone else. In a ski lesson it can be determined that the imitating agent is the skier as a learner and the model to imitate is the instructor. For the imitator, the basis must be his or her ability to memorize and that memory must be organized to allow learning.
Learning by imitation is an effective method for acquiring new behaviors or improving existing ones. Although imitation is the most primitive form of learning, it tends to generate a certain confusion between our Self and the non-Self. We may imitate as if it were our own construction, that is, we believe that we discovered the movement by ourselves (the Self), while in reality, we have observed it from another skier (the non-Self) and have repeated it.
Cognitive theory
It is oriented to learning by association of previous knowledge. Our prior knowledge and experience influence our subsequent learning, facilitating the assimilation of new information, and the making of new connections. For learning to occur we need new sensory and motor experiences to connect with those stored in our memory.
One of the first laws discovered in psychology is the Law of association. Today, modern psychology considers it a fundamental law in our emotional life. Association can be defined as the relationship between certain affective and perceptual situations of current skiing that have been experienced once or several times before. The presence of a situation brings to our consciousness, at least partially, other similar situations.
The laws of association are classified as primary:
- The Law of similarity holds that present sensations, perceptions, actions, emotions, and thoughts are related to those previous states or impressions. Therefore, it would be natural to reproduce in the present a past activity, situation, or experience. Those that are similar tend to appear together when evoked.
- The Law of contrast postulates that contrasting objects, situations, or states (sensations, emotions, thoughts, actions) tend to be more easily recorded in memory.
- The Law of contiguity defines that an action, sensation, emotion, or a thought occurring together in time and space tend to be remembered reciprocally.
Secondary laws include:
- The Law of frequency refers to the more recent our experiences that are related have occurred, the more likely they are to be remembered together.
- The Law of vividness formulates that the more vivid our experiences are will be more easily remembered.
These laws would explain how the associative action of perceptions, sensations, and affectivity lead to a succession of constant feelings of pleasure or displeasure that are regularly experienced in the course of habitual skiing.
Memory is essential in the process of association, which collaborates in understanding future situations. Association through memory is a process in which our previous experiences, ideas, and concepts are brought to consciousness to solve new learning situations.
Theory of motor resonance
Motor resonance is the neural mechanism that acts in the activation of the motor system during the observation of the execution of a motor action. This theory is based on our brains’ mechanisms that translates the visual experience into an internal knowledge of the motor execution through the mirror system, that is, through our mirror neurons of the premotor cortex, which is activated when we observe the execution of other skiers.
Theory of controlled action
This theory suggests that, during a motor execution, if we direct our attention internally we generate interference in the automatic process of movement control. Studies on the focus of attention showed that external control has been corroborated as superior to internal control. The expert skier, who has mastered his technique, may experience a negative performance when controlling attention in his own execution.
Skiing with minimal conscious control of technical execution aids in performance since less attention is used, freeing it for other factors such as decision making, which prevents exceeding our attentional capacity. Using the control of attention towards the external decreases our attentional load, while doing so towards the internal increases the processing of the information handled by our brain. If we develop routines of automatic executions with minimal effort, it means that we have replaced the process of internal focus with automatic control characterized by minimal attention to the execution of our movements.
The guidelines of the instructor or coach may be directed toward the internal focus of the skier’s attention, i.e., toward his own body, or toward the external focus, i.e., the goal or result of the execution. External attentional control away from our body generates a better performance than the one which is oriented closer, allowing us to focus on the result of our actions and avoiding the interruption of automatism.
Trial and error theory
It postulates that we test our known skiing behavior until we reach a different result and that we would replicate this method in new situations. In this way, we would eliminate inefficient movements in order to keep the most efficient ones for the action we wish to perform.
Here we must consider how we discard some movements and retain others. Those who defend this theory argue that the elimination and retention would be due to the association related to the pleasure function. We would discard what is useless and unpleasant and retain what is useful and pleasurable. It should be clarified that the pleasure would not be simultaneous to the successful movement but follows the modification of the behavior we experience as rewarding. Likewise, it is argued that success generates pleasure, this determines repetition, and repetition fixes the movements.
Computational theory
According to the Computational theory of mind, our brain would be compared to a computer in the hardware part and our mind in the operating system, that is, the software. Extrapolating this theory to the learning of skiing, the instructor and the coach would be the ones who ‘install’ and ‘configure’ the ‘operating system’ in the learner and in the athlete.
Our lived experiences would make this system to be ‘updated’ periodically. If we are slow to evolve could be because some motor program is ‘stuck’ in one of the steps, repeating the same circuit and preventing the following steps, that is to say, the continuation of new motor execution that we are trying to assimilate.
Transfer theory
Argues that learning in one area influences, if the subjects are similar, learning in another area. Transfer in motor learning refers to the applicability of a motor skill, or previous motor experiences, to a new activity. Certain sequences of movements and actions are transferred from one sport or activity to a second sport. Our past experiences help us to develop new skills and knowledge.
The mastery of a motor skill can be applied in a different context from the one in which it was acquired. Transfer can be positive or negative. Positive transfer applies when transferring a known motor skill to a new motor context and negative transfer is the opposite: when previous motor skills, or those performed automatically, interfere with learning a new one. For example, ice skating might be facilitated by preceding experiences of roller skating but it does not necessarily simplify ski learning.
Theory of intuition
Intuition can be understood as the presentiment, feeling, or hunch that we experience when learning something without being aware of how it was learned. Intuition theory, understood as the possibility of immediate knowledge, occurs when suddenly discovering the solution to a problem or situation by means of the relationships between the various elements that compose it.
Mnemonic learning theory
It uses conscious strategies to memorize methods of motor execution. These are instructional methods designed to fix learning, or to remember difficult technical concepts, by repeating key or reference words.
Slogans, rhyming words, or acronyms are used to relate them to images of movements or technical actions to be performed or improved, creating a more accessible and meaningful word-image-performance association, as well as improving the retention of kinesthetic information.
