During a motor learning phase, which stage is characterized by many errors and heavy cognitive processing when learning a new skill?

• A. Associative stage; refinement, fewer errors.
• B. Cognitive stage; example: learning a new stroke.
• C. Autonomous stage; skilled automatic execution.
• D. Cognitive stage; example: refining a movement already learned.

Answer: (B)

The main idea is that when you’re learning a brand-new skill, you’re in the cognitive stage. This phase involves lots of thinking and problem-solving as you figure out what to do, plan the movement, and decide on timing and sequencing. Because the skill is new, performance is messy and errors are common—the learner experiments with different approaches to see what works. An example would be learning a new stroke, where you’re consciously guiding each component of the movement and using a lot of trial-and-error feedback. As practice continues, you move toward the associative stage with fewer errors and more refined technique, and later to the autonomous stage where the movement becomes automatic. The other descriptions fit later stages or a scenario where something is being refined after it’s already learned, which doesn’t match the situation of learning a new skill with many errors.