16B A replay of our live discussion on the topic skill acquisition in which we covered topics including: Early specialization vs diversification? Deliberate play vs deliberate practice? Are athletes born or made? What fundamental movement skills should a young athlete acquire? What advice would we give ourselves as young athletes if we could go back…

16B How do people regulate and modify their emotions (e.g., when pretending to like a bad gift)? Is this what is involved in choking under pressure? Why do people slip on ice – is our visual system letting us down, literally? Why does everybody hate fruit cake – a lesson in multisensory perception? Download link…

16 How can we learn to shoot a basketball by thinking about a cookie jar and learn to putt a golf ball by thinking about toothpaste?!! Can a novice athlete really become great without being given any verbal instructions about how to actually perform their skill? In the episode, I explore some approaches to learning…

15D My list of the top 5 stories in sports psychology/motor learning in 2015: 5.  Skill acquisition is better when things look bigger 4.  Is sports psychology research reliable? 3.  Neurodoping! Becoming a better athlete with brain stimulation 2.  Yes, Virginia! There is a hot hand! 1.  Perceptual-cognitive training in sports: science or snake oil?…

15C A discussion with Josh Miller, Assistant Professor of Decision Science at Bocconni University in Italy, about his and Adam Sanjurjo’s recent work which has seemingly reversed the findings of 30 years of research on performance streaks in sports. Their work provides pretty convincing evidence that the hot hand is not a fallacy or illusion…

15B News: Do soccer goalkeepers suffer from the gambler’s fallacy in penalty shoot-outs? Are expert sailors better at judging the direction of wind from the feel on their skin? Download link Articles: The gambler’s fallacy in penalty shootouts Expertise effects in cutaneous wind perception More information: My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My…

15A How do fans perceive the action going on in sports? Does your ability to watch a sport improve with hours of practice in front of your TV? How does the perception of fans differ from the perception of the athletes themselves? Why was the Fox puck pure evil? Download link Articles/links: Action anticipation and…

15 How do we use vision to control the placement of our feet on rough terrain, to avoid spraining that ankle? How do anxiety, fear and fatigue change the way we perform these activities? What differs between elite and novice climbers? Did I survive a rim to rim hike in the Grand Canyon? Let’s hit…

14D Is Pearl Izumi right: “marathons have changed from a race to run to a box to be checked”? Is Associative or Dissociative Attention better for running and how does it depend on pace? Download link Articles/links: http://community.runnersworld.com/topic/pearl-izumi-ad-campaign?reply=54776376858447655 Attentional focus in endurance activity: new paradigms and future directions A social-cognitive perspective of perceived exertion and…

14C A discussion with Keith Davids, Professor of Motor Learning at Sheffield Hallam University and an innovator of the constraints lead approach to skill acquisition. We discuss using ecological dynamics to study sports performance, sport analytics, team coordination and designing for exercise and health promotion. Download link More information about my guest: http://www.shu.ac.uk/research/cser/professor-keith-davids http://www.humankinetics.com/products/all-products/dynamics-of-skill-acquisition https://www.routledge.com/products/9780415744393…