Skill Acquisition
Skill Acquisition - Related Videos
08:59
Acquisition of a High-precision Skilled Forelimb Reaching Task in Rats
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Cited by 19 •
2015
A paradigm is presented to analyze the acquisition of a high-precision skilled forelimb reaching task in rats.
09:51
Using Point of Care Ultrasound to Augment Acquisition of Physical Exam Skills: Knee and Shoulder
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2023
Source: Joseph H. Donroe, Rachel Liu; Yale School of Medicine, USA Point of Care Ultrasound or POCUS is easy to use, has enhanced mobility due to the smaller equipment needed, and may be carried out in a variety of settings. It is also far safer and cheaper than imaging techniques like computer tomography. POCUS can be helpful when certain physical exam findings are difficult to appreciate by palpation, percussion, or auscultation and can facilitate learning elements of the cardiac, pulmonary,...
15:58
Using Point of Care Ultrasound to Augment Acquisition of Physical Exam Skills: Organs
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2023
Source: Joseph H. Donroe, Rachel Liu; Yale School of Medicine, USA Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) is used by clinicians for diagnosis, ongoing monitoring, and/or procedural guidance at the time of patient care. Many medical schools are now teaching POCUS as a part of their basic clinical skills training, in addition to history, physical exams, and clinical reasoning. Besides being an independent skill, POCUS is also an incredibly useful tool for augmenting the teaching and learning of the...
08:42
Using Point of Care Ultrasound to Augment Acquisition of Physical Exam Skills: Veins and Arteries
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2023
Source: Joseph H. Donroe, Rachel Liu; Yale School of Medicine, USA Vascular diseases make up most cases of emergency hospitalization and carry a high mortality risk. Point-of-care ultrasound or POCUS enables accurate diagnosis of these diseases and shortens the time between detection of the cause and selection of appropriate treatment strategies, thus, reducing the patient mortality rate. POCUS offers a safe, low-cost, and less invasive bedside tool for examining arteries and veins, besides its...
05:12
Using Virtual Reality to Transfer Motor Skill Knowledge from One Hand to Another
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Cited by 11 •
2017
We describe a novel virtual-reality based setup which exploits voluntary control of one hand to improve motor-skill performance in the other (non-trained) hand. This is achieved by providing real-time movement-based sensory feedback as if the non-trained hand is moving. This new approach may be used to enhance rehabilitation of patients with unilateral hemiparesis.
FAQs
Practice does not improve performance independently of attention, feedback, and memory. Attention helps learners monitor task demands, feedback indicates how performance should change, and memory supports retention of what has been practiced. As these processes interact, control can become less effortful and responses can become faster and more automatic, marking a shift in performance quality.
Motivation and task difficulty influence how effectively practice produces learning. Motivation affects engagement with instruction and repeated practice, while difficulty determines the demands placed on performance. Environmental conditions can further support or disrupt learning. Psychologists therefore examine these factors together rather than treating skill acquisition as a simple consequence of repetition alone.
Retention and transfer reveal different outcomes of skill acquisition. Retention concerns whether a person can maintain the learned ability over time, whereas transfer concerns whether that ability can be used in a new situation. A practice arrangement may support performance without producing durable learning, so both outcomes matter when psychologists evaluate whether mastery has developed.
An applied program typically begins by identifying the target task and the abilities it requires. Instruction then directs attention to relevant information, followed by practice under suitable conditions. Feedback helps the learner adjust performance, while psychologists monitor progress, retention, and transfer. Task difficulty and environmental conditions can be modified when they hinder effective learning.
In education and workplace development, skill acquisition helps organize instruction and practice around effective performance rather than one-time completion. In athletic training, it supports coordinated behavior under task demands. Rehabilitation and therapeutic interventions use the same psychological principles to promote useful abilities. Across settings, assessing retention and transfer helps determine whether learning extends beyond practice.
Psychologists study how practice conditions affect learning, performance, retention, and transfer. They may compare different levels of instruction, motivation, task difficulty, or environmental support to determine which arrangements produce better outcomes. This research connects attention and memory with practical decisions about training, education, rehabilitation, and therapy, helping distinguish temporary performance gains from lasting progress.