Exploring the orthogonal relationship between controlled and automated processes

After identifying some of the weaknesses associated with linear, or serial, models of skill learning—with a focus on their failure to fully account for the ongoing relevance of motor control and attention to action—this chapter synthesizes the evidence presented over the course of this book to construct a model of skilled action that captures the complex relationship between automaticity and attentional focus. This model explains how these two processes operate in a synergistic fashion to help experts overcome the challenges they face in seeking to not only maintain but to continue to improve performance proficiency over long timescales, to update and improve motor execution in training contexts, and to stabilize performance under pressurized conditions. The chapter concludes by briefly discussing the role metacognition plays in allowing expert performers to identify and apply situationally appropriate modes of control.