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The Constraints Collective
Our mission is to transform practice environments in sport by equipping coaches with the knowledge, understanding and skills to bridge the gap between skill acquisition theory and practice.
The Constraints Collective
#60 Let's ditch the ecological/information processing dualism
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In this episode we explore the longstanding debate between cognitive and ecological approaches to skill acquisition and coaching. The discussion traces the history from behaviorism through cognitive psychology to the rise of ecological dynamics, highlighting differences in how each views learning, practice, and feedback.
While the cognitive tradition emphasizes repetition, internal representations, and error correction, the ecological perspective focuses on player–environment interactions, exploration, and adaptive problem-solving. We discuss how the integration of the two approaches is difficult due to differing philosophical foundations but encourage coaches to reflect on their worldview, avoid outdated dualisms, and design practice environments that best support athlete learning.
Enjoy!!