Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Modeling in Therapy01:26

Modeling in Therapy

Modeling, a key technique in therapy, uses observational learning to help clients acquire and practice new skills by watching therapists demonstrate desired behaviors. This approach, rooted in Albert Bandura's concept of vicarious learning, plays a significant role in therapeutic interventions for various psychological conditions, including social anxiety, ADHD, and depression.
Participant Modeling
Participant modeling involves therapists demonstrating calm and effective behaviors in situations...
Leveling Effect01:29

Leveling Effect

In acid-base chemistry, the leveling effect refers to the limitation imposed by the solvent on the strength of acids and bases in solution. When a base stronger than the solvent's conjugate base is used, it deprotonates the solvent until the base is entirely consumed, making it ineffective against weaker acids. Conversely, an acid stronger than the solvent's conjugate acid protonates the solvent until the acid is depleted, rendering it ineffective against weaker bases. Essentially, the solvent...
Fixed Action Patterns01:06

Fixed Action Patterns

A fixed action pattern (FAP) is a specific, hard-wired sequence of behaviors that occurs in response to an external stimulus, called a sign stimulus. The behavior is “fixed” because it is essentially unchangeable—proceeding similarly across individuals of a species every time it occurs.
Law of Effect01:06

Law of Effect

B.F. Skinner, a prominent figure in behavioral psychology, introduced operant conditioning by emphasizing the role of consequences in shaping behavior. This theory builds upon the law of effect proposed by Edward Thorndike, which posits that behaviors followed by satisfying outcomes are likely to be repeated. In contrast, those followed by unsatisfying outcomes are less likely to recur.
Edward Thorndike's foundational work involved studying learning in animals, particularly using puzzle boxes...
First Pass Effect01:12

First Pass Effect

Presystemic elimination, or the first-pass effect, is the metabolism of drugs that reduces their effective concentration at the site of action. Apart from the first-pass effect, the systemic bioavailability of the drug is also reduced by other factors, including incomplete absorption or chemical degradation of drugs.
Depending on the route of administration, drugs can be metabolized in the liver, intestine, lungs, and vasculature. Orally administered drugs are first absorbed through the...
Muscle Stimulation Frequency01:22

Muscle Stimulation Frequency

The contraction strength of muscles is regulated by motor neurons, which modulate the frequency of action potentials dispatched to the motor units based on the body's requirements. This process of varying the muscle stimulation frequency allows muscles to contract with a force that is precisely tailored to the needs of the moment, whether lifting a feather or a heavy box.
Wave summation
At low firing rates, motor neurons induce individual twitch contractions in muscle fibers. These twitches...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Dissociating variability from error-based processes in observational learning.

Human movement science·2026
Same author

Evaluating models of athlete development through assessment of within- and between-sport and activity variability among competitive female youth soccer athletes.

Science & medicine in football·2026
Same author

Correction: A social prescribing model for tackling the health and social inequalities of people living with severe mental illness: a protocol paper.

BMC public health·2025
Same author

New developments at human movement science: Shaping the future.

Human movement science·2025
Same author

Evidence for the dominance of visual-perceptual mechanisms of action prediction following isolated and sequential visual and motor practice.

Psychological research·2025
Same author

Home working during the COVID-19 pandemic: The experience of drug and alcohol support workers.

Journal of public health research·2025
Same journal

MRI correlates of emotion recognition in vascular dementia: An empty systematic review.

Acta psychologica·2026
Same journal

The core symptoms of elementary school students' fear of negative evaluation and its network relationship with self-confidence and family atmosphere.

Acta psychologica·2026
Same journal

Examining the moderating role of psychological hardiness in the relation between job demands and teachers' emotional exhaustion.

Acta psychologica·2026
Same journal

Counter-Empathy Scale: Adapting and developing psychometric properties in Northeast India.

Acta psychologica·2026
Same journal

When AI creates: Creative self-efficacy as a mediator in design professionals' adoption of AI image generators.

Acta psychologica·2026
Same journal

Effects of multimodal feedback on L2 English learners' lexical stress error correction: The role of learning style and feedback preference.

Acta psychologica·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 22, 2026

Creating Virtual-hand and Virtual-face Illusions to Investigate Self-representation
06:53

Creating Virtual-hand and Virtual-face Illusions to Investigate Self-representation

Published on: March 1, 2017

Constant or variable practice: recreating the especial skill effect.

Gavin Breslin1, Nicola J Hodges, Andrew Steenson

  • 1Sport and Exercise Science Research Institute, University of Ulster, Jordanstown Campus, Newtownabbey Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK. g.breslin1@ulster.ac.uk

Acta Psychologica
|May 26, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Constant practice, not just extensive practice, can lead to especial skills in sports. This study shows repetitive practice at a single distance, like basketball free throws, can create performance advantages.

More Related Videos

Modeling Verbal Behavior Deficits with the Stimulus Control Ratio Equation, SCoRE
06:57

Modeling Verbal Behavior Deficits with the Stimulus Control Ratio Equation, SCoRE

Published on: May 14, 2019

Using Virtual Reality to Transfer Motor Skill Knowledge from One Hand to Another
05:12

Using Virtual Reality to Transfer Motor Skill Knowledge from One Hand to Another

Published on: September 18, 2017

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 22, 2026

Creating Virtual-hand and Virtual-face Illusions to Investigate Self-representation
06:53

Creating Virtual-hand and Virtual-face Illusions to Investigate Self-representation

Published on: March 1, 2017

Modeling Verbal Behavior Deficits with the Stimulus Control Ratio Equation, SCoRE
06:57

Modeling Verbal Behavior Deficits with the Stimulus Control Ratio Equation, SCoRE

Published on: May 14, 2019

Using Virtual Reality to Transfer Motor Skill Knowledge from One Hand to Another
05:12

Using Virtual Reality to Transfer Motor Skill Knowledge from One Hand to Another

Published on: September 18, 2017

Area of Science:

  • Motor Learning
  • Sports Science
  • Skill Acquisition

Background:

  • Especial skills, characterized by performance advantages in specific actions, are typically associated with extensive practice.
  • The role of practice type versus practice amount in developing especial skills remains an area of investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if an especial skill effect emerges in novice basketball players through constant practice conditions at the free-throw line.
  • To determine if short-term, repetitive practice can induce performance advantages similar to those seen with massive practice.

Main Methods:

  • Novice participants underwent a pretest of basketball set shots from five distances.
  • Participants were randomly assigned to either a constant practice group (300 trials at 15 ft only) or a variable practice group (300 trials across five distances).
  • Posttest performance was compared between groups to assess skill acquisition and especial skill effects.

Main Results:

  • Both groups improved shot accuracy at the 15 ft distance after practice.
  • A significant difference between actual and expected scores was observed only in the constant practice group.
  • This suggests that constant practice conditions can elicit an especial skill effect.

Conclusions:

  • The type of practice, specifically constant repetitive practice, is crucial for developing especial skills, rather than solely the amount of practice.
  • Short-term, focused practice can be as effective as massive practice in creating performance advantages in specific motor skills.
  • Findings challenge the traditional view that extensive practice is the sole determinant of especial skills.