
CONSCIOUS PROCESSING OF A COMPLEX MOTOR SKILL: AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE AUTOMATICITY PARADIGM OF FULL GOLF SWING EXECUTION. by NOEL ROUSSEAU A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences University of Birmingham May 2015 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ii Abstract This thesis examines factors that influence the propensity to, and the utility of, conscious processing during a complex motor skill. Prevalent theories of skill acquisition and automaticity view expert performance as best executed in the absence of conscious movement control. There is substantial evidence to support this claim for simple tasks but a lack of research for complex skills is apparent. In this thesis the role of conscious processing (reinvestment) is examined in relation to the full golf swing in baseline and anxiety conditions. The early experiments in the thesis examine the effects of limiting conscious processing through a temporal restriction. Mixed performance results were evident throughout, with no support being afforded to the complete automaticity of a complex skill. Later experiments investigated individualistic elements of personality and cognitive ‘make up,’ that may affect the control structures of the golf swing. In a divergence to the reinvestment literature, our results indicate that conscious processing during task performance affects individuals differently, with mediating factors of processing style and working memory capacity. A high ‘verbaliser’ group deteriorated while ‘visualisers’ showed improvement during restricted conscious processing trials. Additionally, a positive correlation was indicated between working memory capacity and task performance during the temporally restricted trials. Overall, the results imply a positive role for conscious control in the golf swing. It is therefore suggested that a multifarious account of reinvestment would be more appropriate if it is to be applied to complex skill. iii Acknowledgements There are several people that have been key to the completion of this thesis and must be thanked. My primary supervisor, Matt Bridge, who always endeavored to answer my numerous questions with further queries and research directions. Entering the world of academia as an inquisitive and busy minded golf coach was a thoroughly daunting task. Although I don’t remember Matt ever actually ‘telling’ me anything, he has somehow guided me to produce a coherent structured research thesis. Thank you also to Ian Boardley who, acting as a second supervisor, gave valuable input into the methodology and direction of study. Without which, I wouldn’t have collected the valuable data that makes up this thesis. My parents, Noel and Jean Rousseau who between them, continually encouraged a thoughtful mind with a practical application. Without the many sacrifices they made, I would never have been able to forge a career and now conduct research, within the sport that I still enjoy as much as my first game. Most of all, thank you to Vanessa who has shown untold patience and support while I have devoted the many hours to this study and away from family life. I am also grateful to the research participants for generously giving their time and honesty during the many trials. Finally, thank you to all my golf students over the years for providing deep insights into the acquisition and performance of the most complex of motor skills. iv LIST OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT..........................................................................................................II ACKNOWLEDGMENTS..........................................................................................III LIST OF CONTENTS............................................................................................IV LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.......................................................................................X LIST OF TABLES................................................................................................XIII LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.....................................................................................XV Chapter 1 ..............................................................................................................................5 Introduction and Overview of Thesis .........................................................................5 Introduction to Thesis.............................................................................................................. 6 Aims of the Dissertation .......................................................................................................... 8 General Aims................................................................................................................................ 8 Specific Aims................................................................................................................................ 8 Chapter 2 ..............................................................................................................................9 A Review of Conscious Processing During a Complex Motor skill ....................9 Introduction...............................................................................................................................10 The Full Golf Swing ..................................................................................................................11 Motor Learning Overview .....................................................................................................12 v The Development of Expert Skill ........................................................................................14 Conscious Control ....................................................................................................................16 Attentional Focus .....................................................................................................................17 Working Memory .....................................................................................................................20 Implicit Learning......................................................................................................................21 The Dual Task Paradigm........................................................................................................23 Measuring conscious processing ........................................................................................24 The Current Thesis ..................................................................................................................31 Chapter 3 ........................................................................................................................... 32 General Methods............................................................................................................. 32 Introduction...............................................................................................................................33 General Procedure...................................................................................................................33 Intervention...............................................................................................................................36 Instruments................................................................................................................................38 Data Analysis .............................................................................................................................39 Chapter 4 ........................................................................................................................... 41 The Effects of Coerced Automaticity Amongst Elite Level Golfers................. 41 Abstract .......................................................................................................................................42 Introduction...............................................................................................................................43 Methods.......................................................................................................................................50 Participants..............................................................................................................................................50 Measures and Apparatus ...................................................................................................................50 Procedure .................................................................................................................................................51 Data Analysis...........................................................................................................................................51 Results..........................................................................................................................................52
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