Whitings Model

The motor skill example I am going to explain for each model is catching a ball in netball; there are 8 elements to Whiting’s model. The first element is the input data from display, the process which occurs in this element the player notices the display which is the environment and surroundings. The netball player would notice the ball, his teammates, opponents and spectators. This information will stimulate the sensory systems. The next element is the sense organs; the senses of vision, auditory and proprioception are used to gather information so the player is aware of what is happening around them.
The player would visually see the ball and the direction of the ball, also the sense of hearing which is auditory would be used as the player would be hearing teammates talking and the coach giving instructions. The proprioceptors would be used such as touch, kinaesthetic and equilibrium to stimulate sensory receptors. The equilibrium would tell the performer whether he is balanced or in the right stance to be able to receive a catch. The next element is perceptual mechanisms; the information received by the sensory receptors is interpreted by making sense of the stimuli which is received.
There is 3 concepts to this, firstly the detection phase where the brain identifies the stimulus present, then comparison phase which is once the stimulus is identifies, it is then compared to a similar stimuli that is stored in the schema. Lastly the recognition phase matches the stimulus to one which is stored in the memory and identified. The netball played would firstly interpret the speed of the ball and the trajectory of the ball coming to the player. Next in the translator mechanisms element, the information has been identified and interpreted so that the correct response can be put into action through the form of a motor programme.

This is also the decision making phase as the movement identified leads to an action being chosen and being put in the correct order and where they will take place. The player would decide what position and stance to get into and the order of where these movements will take place. The next element is the effector mechanism where the motor programme is put into action by sending impulses via the nervous system to the muscles appropriate to the movement so the correct action can take place. The impulses would be sent to the player’s bicep and tricep brachii which would contract to get into the correct position to catch the ball.
The perceptual, translator and effector mechanisms are all body boundary processes. The muscular system element is when the muscles which receive the impulses correspond and make the movements in the correct order of action. The example is the same for the effector mechanism where the impulse to the tricep and bicep brachii contract leading to the movement taking place. The output data is the end product itself so the netball player makes the catch or could drop the catch this then leads to the display changing and creates new information which is feedback after the motor programmes have taken place.
Lastly the feedback data is received from intrinsic feedback which is internal sources such as proprioceptors which use the kinesthesis of the movement about whether it feels good. The other type is extrinsic feedback which is external sources such as teachers or coaches telling the player which are received by the auditory and visual systems, an example would be whether the catch felt good if the proprioceptors have a good feel for the movement.