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Literature examining elements influencing the production of consistent human movement is reviewed in this paper. The review is limited to theoretical papers and research studies on sport-related tasks that utilize actual representations of movement, e.g., film, electromyogram, or videotape; rather than movement only implied from goal attainment, e.g., error scores in target accuracy. The existent research and theory concerned with human movement consistency during perceptual motor task performance/learning repeatedly identifies three major influencing factors: (1) type of task/environmental demands; (2) amount of practice with the task; and (3) skills level of the individual. A selected reference list is included. (JD)

This paper reviews the literature comparing the perceptual strategies of expert and novice sport/skill performers in ball sports to specifically identify where differences exist. The following comparisons were made: (1) experts attend to fewer, somewhat different visual cues than beginners; (2) experts exhibit an ability to utilize advanced anticipatory cues and early flight cues during response preparation; (3) experienced players demonstrate earlier anticipatory movements during competition; and (4) there are inconsistencies in the literature regarding the visual search strategies used by experts and novices. It is suggested that the real difference in perceptual strategies between the two groups was not in their physical search patterns but in their respective abilities to critically attend to available environmental information. (JD)

Golf experts suggest that a performer should attempt to swing the same way during each shot, changing clubs to alter the flight trajectory and distance of the ball. This study sought to determine if there was a difference in the development of golf skill and swing consistency between a control group and an experimental group using an ergogenic aid. Subjects were 32 undergraduate students enrolled in one of two golf classes. Results revealed that: (1) the control group hit significantly more balls than the experimental group during the treatment phase; (2) the experimental group hit significantly fewer balls during the treatment phase than during the post-treatment phase; and (3) there were no other between or within group differences, although the control group scored significantly better than the experimental group on the skill test. It is concluded that ergogenic aid did not produce any group differences in movement consistency and it detracted from the amount of practice of golfers at the beginning/intermediate skill levels, which accounts for the better golf skill demonstrated by the control group at the end of the study. (JD)