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I started working at Jimmy Johns for the Spring 2023 semester. I have worked a few jobs in food before but more than the others Jimmy Johns' sell is on the speed that a customers' food is made. When considering response time, the time it takes to react to a stimulus and the movement time it takes to complete a task, I think it can be compared to the ticket time, or time it takes for a customer to order to when their food is ready.

When I work on the line, making and completing the order, my response time is the time it takes to grab the order ticket and begin to make the order. The movement time is the time it takes me to complete the order. Simple reaction time could be compared to only having one order to complete choice reaction time and discrimination reaction time become more relevant during a lunch rush when there are many orders and customers coming in at one. When dealing with one order, the time it takes to make the sandwich is relatively fast. Choice reaction time occurs when there are many possible stimuli and each one has an associated response. This is a perfect example for when there are multiple orders and each for a different sandwich. When I see the order number I can associate a certain sandwich build to the order and complete it relatively fast, although with more delay than a single order. Discrimination reaction time is applicable when there are multiple possible stimuli by a participant only reacts to one. This may occur at work when we are particularly busy and multiple people are contributing to completing orders. I may be assigned to only preparing the meats or vegetables for an order. In this case, I have to wait for the order to come through and assess if I need to complete a movement or if the task I am performing isn't necessary.

Since Jimmy Johns' brand is fast service, there are many instances where a speed-accuracy trade-off may occur. When trying to optimize the time it takes to complete orders some elements, like modifications, may suffer in accuracy. This relates to Fitts' Law which states that the amount of time it takes to move to a target area is a function of distance divided by the size of the target. In an abstract application, since the distance and size of the target are not direct factors when making the sandwich, there is still a relationship between the speed of making the orders and the degree of accuracy that the orders are completed that can be examined.

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Crocheting is another hobby of mine that I am still working to improve on. I have been crocheting since I was a kid and first learned by watching my grandma. When I got old enough she taught me how to crochet and pick my own patterns to try. There were multiple times that I gave up on learning the skill just to pick it up later and learn new things. One of my biggest milestones for crocheting was creating a replica of a stuffed animal with no pattern.

In hindsight, I can breakdown my improvement into the stages of learning that we covered in lecture. The cognitive stage, or first stage, is characterized by large gains in performance based on cognitive or verbal processes, inconsistency in performance, and the development of strategies. When I first learned the skill it was largely through verbal and visual instruction from my grandma as well as cognitively understanding how the process worked. I went from not being able to crochet to being able to make a simple dishcloth. This was perhaps the largest gain in performance over the course of learning the skill. I remember making a lot of mistakes and pulling the yarn to restart the whole project and being very frustrated when trying to coordinate my hands and hold the yarn with the right fingers. The next stage, the associative stage, is where the learner establishes motor patterns, improvement is more gradual, and errors are identified. In this stage I remember learning to repeat the stitches I learned and correct small errors with pressure consistency, counts, and being able to handle the needle and yarn. This stage took the course of a few years when I would pick up some yarn and a hook and try to make uniform blankets or scarves. The improvement I made was not as visible from the projects I completed but instead the understanding behind what I was doing. In this stage I could easily recreate a simple dishcloth but without variations in stitch strength and count. The final stage, the autonomous stage, is characterized by a reduction in attention demand, correction of errors, and less interference from simultaneous activities. This is the stage I am currently at. I am able to crochet and watch television without much difficulty and I can instantly tell if a mistake has been made in the pattern. Instead of having to focus on holding the materials and making a correct stitch I can focus on creating new stitches to incorporate and make-up new patterns to try.

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One of my favorite hobbies is drawing. I've been drawing for years and trying to improve my skills when it comes to drawing realistic human figures and anatomy. One of the most important elements of improving sketching is to practice consistently. Throughout the years I have filled sketchbooks with practice sketches or "studies".

Learning about practice schedules and how different schedules lead to more transfer and improvement of a skill was very interesting to me. The most appealing part of learning the content was being able to apply it to my own life and improve on skills that I am passionate about.

When I practice drawing I usually pick a reference for an element that I want to work on and practice it over and over until I become more accurate. However, the information and research in practice variability suggests that random blocks of practice lead to higher amounts of transfer than blocked practice. Therefore, instead of practicing one pose multiple times, it is more beneficial to practice drawing variations of the pose (as seen in the picture). I can also apply contextual interference or the idea that "the memory and performance disruptions (i.e. interfernce) that results from practicing multiple skills or variations of a skill within the context of practice" (Lecture Notes, 2023).  When I practice drawing the body in multiple poses or configurations I learn how to perform the skill in different contexts. This is useful when creating new poses or improving my general ability to draw since I have more experience with novel scenarios. The Schema theory supports this because according to the theory the learning of rules is more effective if the practice is varied rather than constant.

These are all ideas around practice of a motor skill that I can apply to my goal of improving as an artist. By applying these rules I can maximize my improvement through methods that are research and evidence-based.

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I have been playing video games since I was a kid and League of Legends is a game that I have played the longest and invested the most time into. It is a strategy game that requires a lot of attention. Where the player's attention is spent can change a lot about the outcomes in the game. I think attention is a really interesting subject when applied to video games compared to real-life sports. So much information is contained on one screen. In the bottom right-hand corner is where the minimap is located. The minimap shows the other players locations and provides a lot of information about what is going to happen next. The main screen is focused on the character that the individual is playing.

The theories of attention that we learned about in class suggest that attention is limited and can only be focused in a variety of ways. The width and direction are ways that attention can be focused, either broad or narrow or internal and external.

Playing a game of League of Legends requires continuous intentional attentional switching. While I am watching my character my attention is narrow but external while I am controlling its actions. I switch my attention to external and broad when other players enter my screen in order to decide what my next move is. It is also broad attention when I am checking the minimap to collect more information about what is going on mid-game. The entire time my attention may switch to internal narrow, while I am thinking about my next steps which may be what lane to go to or what items to buy. It also can be broad internal when I consider all of the possible outcomes of the game. My attention may also be diverted unintentionally or involuntary attentional switching. This may occur if I hear my name called while I am on the computer, which has meaning to me, or due to novelty if I hear a random noise or see a computer pop-up.

Looking at all of the stimuli and information from the game through the scope of having limited attention can help me prioritize where my attention goes to maximize my in-game performance. Instead of trying to pay attention to all aspects of the game, which according to the theories of attention is impossible, I can focus on completing one task at a time and fully processing and responding to the stimuli.