5.1: Characteristics and classification of
skill
skill: “the consistent production of goal-oriented movements”, which are learned and specific to the task.
There are different types:
cognitive: core skills used by your brain to think, learn, remember, reason, and pay attention (e.g:
thought process in chess strategy, being able to know the rules, tactics, and team goals in a team
sport…)
perceptual: the ability to interpret or become aware of something through the senses. This
includes vision, vestibular (senses that help with balance and are closely related to hearing),
haptic (touch), and auditory (e.g: reading the green in golf so you can make a putt, reading a rock-
climbing wall face before the climb)
motor (movement): skill associated with muscle activity (e.g: weightlifting is a great example as
this sport doesn’t take much thinking, just movement)
perceptual motor: they involve the interpretation of environmental stimuli and its
corresponding motor response.
Approaches to classifying motor skills
Skills can be classified according to characteristics according to the demands of said skill.
*skills usually don’t fit into just one category, so we use a continuum.
There are three classification criteria based on:
the distinctiveness of the movement characteristics (discrete, serial, and continuous motor skills)
stability of the environment (closed or open motor skills)
size of the musculature involved (fine and gross motor skills)
5.1: Characteristics and classification of skill 1
skill
skill: “the consistent production of goal-oriented movements”, which are learned and specific to the task.
There are different types:
cognitive: core skills used by your brain to think, learn, remember, reason, and pay attention (e.g:
thought process in chess strategy, being able to know the rules, tactics, and team goals in a team
sport…)
perceptual: the ability to interpret or become aware of something through the senses. This
includes vision, vestibular (senses that help with balance and are closely related to hearing),
haptic (touch), and auditory (e.g: reading the green in golf so you can make a putt, reading a rock-
climbing wall face before the climb)
motor (movement): skill associated with muscle activity (e.g: weightlifting is a great example as
this sport doesn’t take much thinking, just movement)
perceptual motor: they involve the interpretation of environmental stimuli and its
corresponding motor response.
Approaches to classifying motor skills
Skills can be classified according to characteristics according to the demands of said skill.
*skills usually don’t fit into just one category, so we use a continuum.
There are three classification criteria based on:
the distinctiveness of the movement characteristics (discrete, serial, and continuous motor skills)
stability of the environment (closed or open motor skills)
size of the musculature involved (fine and gross motor skills)
5.1: Characteristics and classification of skill 1
