What is the stimulus-response (S-R) bond?

The S-R bond is the link between a stimulus in the environment and the performer's response to it. Operant conditioning aims to strengthen the bond for correct responses.

How does trial and error learning work in operant conditioning?

The learner tries different responses until one succeeds. The successful response is reinforced, so it is more likely to be repeated.

How is the environment manipulated in operant conditioning?

The coach sets up the practice so that the desired response is more likely. A hockey coach might place a target in the corner of the goal to shape accurate shooting.

What is positive reinforcement?

Positive reinforcement is the giving of a pleasant stimulus after a correct response. Praise from a coach after a good pass strengthens the S-R bond.

OCR A-Level Physical Education H555

Skeletal and Muscular Systems

Topic overview Shoulder, elbow and wrist joints and muscles Hip, knee and ankle joints and muscles Planes of movement, muscle roles and contractions Analysing movement in sporting actions Motor units and muscle fibre types

The Cardiovascular System

Topic overview Heart rate, stroke volume and cardiac output at rest The cardiac cycle and conduction system Cardiac responses to exercise and recovery The vascular shunt mechanism Venous return and heart rate regulation

The Respiratory System

Topic overview Breathing frequency, tidal volume and minute ventilation Mechanics of breathing at rest and in exercise Regulation of breathing Gas exchange at the alveoli and the muscles

Energy for Exercise

Topic overview ATP and coupled reactions The ATP-PC system The glycolytic system The aerobic system The energy continuum and intermittent exercise EPOC and the recovery process

Environmental Effects on Body Systems

Topic overview Altitude and oxygen delivery Acclimatisation and timing arrival at altitude Exercise in the heat and cardiovascular drift

Diet, Nutrition and Ergogenic Aids

Topic overview Components of a balanced diet Energy balance, meals and hydration Anabolic steroids, EPO and HGH Blood doping, intermittent hypoxic training and cooling aids Carbohydrate loading and supplements

Aerobic Training

Topic overview VO₂max and the factors that affect it Testing aerobic capacity Continuous training, HIIT and target heart rates Adaptations to aerobic training

Strength and Flexibility Training

Topic overview Types of strength and strength testing Strength training methods Adaptations to strength training Types of flexibility and flexibility testing Flexibility training methods and adaptations

Periodisation of Training

Topic overview Macrocycles, mesocycles and microcycles Training phases and tapering Planning a personal health and fitness programme

Training and Lifestyle Diseases

Topic overview Atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease Heart attack and stroke Asthma and COPD

Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation

Topic overview Acute and chronic injuries Risk factors, warm-up and cool-down SALTAPS, PRICE and concussion Fractures, joint injuries and muscle damage Treatments for sporting injuries

Biomechanical Principles and Levers

Topic overview Newton's laws and force calculations Forces and free body diagrams Centre of mass and stability Levers and mechanical advantage Limb kinematics, force plates and wind tunnels

Linear and Angular Motion

Topic overview Linear motion, distance and displacement Speed, velocity and acceleration Graphs of linear motion Angular motion and the axes of rotation Moment of inertia and conservation of angular momentum

Fluid Mechanics and Projectile Motion

Topic overview Air resistance and drag Factors affecting projectile distance Forces on a projectile and flight paths Bernoulli's principle and lift Spin and the Magnus effect

Skill Classification, Practice and Transfer

Topic overview Classifying skills by difficulty, environment and pacing Classifying skills by muscular involvement, continuity and organisation Whole, part, whole-part-whole and progressive part practice Massed, distributed, fixed and varied practice Transfer of learning between skills

Theories and Stages of Learning

Topic overview Operant conditioning Cognitive theory and insight learning Bandura's observational learning Fitts and Posner's stages of learning

Guidance and Feedback

Topic overview Verbal and visual guidance Manual and mechanical guidance Intrinsic, extrinsic, positive and negative feedback Knowledge of performance and knowledge of results

Memory Models

Topic overview Atkinson and Shiffrin's multi-store model Selective attention Craik and Lockhart's levels of processing

Personality and Attitudes

Topic overview Trait theory of personality Social learning and interactionist perspectives Attitudes and the triadic model Persuasive communication and cognitive dissonance

Motivation and Arousal

Topic overview Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation Rewards and motivation in coaching Arousal and drive theory Inverted-U and catastrophe theories

Anxiety

Topic overview State and trait anxiety Somatic and cognitive anxiety The zone of optimal functioning

Aggression

Topic overview Aggression and assertion Instinct and social learning theories of aggression Frustration-aggression and aggressive cue hypotheses

Social Facilitation and Group Dynamics

Topic overview Social facilitation and inhibition Evaluation apprehension and reducing social inhibition Groups and Tuckman's stages of development Steiner's model, the Ringelmann effect and social loafing

Goal Setting

Topic overview Outcome, performance and process goals How goal setting improves performance The SMART principle

Attribution

Topic overview Weiner's model: locus of causality and stability Controllability, self-serving bias and attribution retraining Learned helplessness and mastery orientation

Confidence and Self-Efficacy

Topic overview Sports confidence, self-efficacy and self-esteem Vealey's model of sports confidence Bandura's four sources of self-efficacy Building confidence in performers

Leadership

Topic overview Effective, emergent and prescribed leaders Autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire styles Trait, social learning and interactionist theories of leadership Chelladurai's multi-dimensional model

Stress Management

Topic overview Stress and stressors in sport Self-talk, thought stopping and rational thinking Mental rehearsal, imagery, goal setting and mindfulness Relaxation, biofeedback, centring and breathing control

Sport in Pre-Industrial and Industrial Britain

Topic overview Popular recreation in pre-industrial Britain Urbanisation, rational recreation and the railways Amateurism and professionalism in Victorian sport Public schools and the cult of athleticism

Sport in the 20th and 21st Centuries

Topic overview Amateurism and professionalism in the 20th century Social change and sport in 20th-century Britain Class, gender and access in 21st-century sport The globalisation of sport

The Olympic Games and Global Sporting Events

Topic overview Coubertin and the aims of the modern Olympics Berlin 1936 and Mexico City 1968 Munich 1972 and the Cold War boycotts Hosting a global sporting event

Drugs in Sport

Topic overview Legal supplements and illegal doping Why elite performers dope Consequences of doping for society, sport and performers Strategies against doping

Violence and Gambling in Sport

Topic overview Causes of player and spectator violence Implications of violence in sport Preventing violence among players and spectators Match fixing, bribery and illegal betting

Commercialisation and the Media

Topic overview What drives the commercialisation of sport Impacts of commercialisation Television, radio, press and internet coverage Positive and negative effects of the media Sport as a commodity and the golden triangle

Routes to Sporting Excellence

Topic overview From talent identification to elite performance Schools, clubs and universities in elite success UK Sport and the national institutes Drop-out from elite programmes

Modern Technology in Sport

Topic overview Technology and elite performance Technology and general participation Technology and fair outcomes Technology and entertainment

Theories and Stages of Learning

4 subtopics
12 things to know
Component 02

What Theories and Stages of Learning covers

Theories and Stages of Learning is examined in Component 02, Psychological factors affecting performance. It covers operant conditioning, cognitive theory and insight learning, Bandura's observational learning and Fitts and Posner's stages of learning.

Where it is assessed

Component 02

Psychological factors affecting performance, a 1 hour paper worth 20% of the A Level.

Check the OCR specification ↗

The 4 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

What roles do perception and past experience play in cognitive theory?

Key term

What is motor reproduction in Bandura's model, and why must a demonstration be within reach?

Evaluation

Evaluate operant conditioning as a way of teaching motor skills.

Process

How should the type of guidance change as a learner moves through the stages?

Key term

What is operant conditioning?

Key term

What does the cognitive theory of learning propose?

Key term

What does Bandura's theory of observational learning propose?

Numbers

Name the three stages of learning identified by Fitts and Posner.

Key term

Which psychologist developed operant conditioning, and how did he show it?

Key term

What is insight learning?

Process

Name the four processes in Bandura's model of observational learning.

Process

What are the characteristics of the cognitive stage of learning?

Take Theories and Stages of Learning further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

Negative reinforcement vs Punishment
Negative reinforcement: removal of an unpleasant stimulus to strengthen a correct response. Punishment: an unpleasant stimulus given to weaken an incorrect response.
Operant conditioning vs Cognitive theory
Operant conditioning: learning shaped by the consequences that follow a response. Cognitive theory: learning through insight and understanding the whole problem.
Cognitive stage vs Associative stage
Cognitive stage: the first phase, when a learner forms a mental picture and makes many errors. Associative stage: the practice phase, when movements become smoother with fewer errors.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What is operant conditioning?
Model answer
Operant conditioning is learning in which behaviour is shaped by its consequences. Reinforcement strengthens the link between a stimulus and a correct response.
2
Which psychologist developed operant conditioning, and how did he show it?
Model answer
The psychologist Skinner developed operant conditioning. Skinner found that rats learned to press a lever when each press was rewarded with food.
3
What is the stimulus-response (S-R) bond?
Model answer
The S-R bond is the link between a stimulus in the environment and the performer's response to it. Operant conditioning aims to strengthen the bond for correct responses.
4
How does trial and error learning work in operant conditioning?
Model answer
The learner tries different responses until one succeeds. The successful response is reinforced, so it is more likely to be repeated.
5
How is the environment manipulated in operant conditioning?
Model answer
The coach sets up the practice so that the desired response is more likely. A hockey coach might place a target in the corner of the goal to shape accurate shooting.
6
What is positive reinforcement?
Model answer
Positive reinforcement is the giving of a pleasant stimulus after a correct response. Praise from a coach after a good pass strengthens the S-R bond.

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Skeletal and Muscular Systems

The Cardiovascular System

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Energy for Exercise

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ADoping can damage health and add to healthcare costs.

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Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Theories and Stages of Learning revision questions

What does Theories and Stages of Learning cover in OCR A-Level Physical Education?: 4 subtopics: operant conditioning, cognitive theory and insight learning, bandura's observational learning and fitts and posner's stages of learning. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
How is Theories and Stages of Learning organised?: By the OCR H555 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.

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