Egon Brunswik proposed the concept of "representative design" for psychological experimentation, which has historically been overlooked or confused with another of Brunswik's terms, ecological validity. In this article, we reiterate the distinction between these two important concepts and highlight the relevance of the term representative design for sports psychology, practice, and experimental design. We draw links with ideas on learning design in the constraints-led approach to motor learning and nonlinear pedagogy. We propose the adoption of a new term, representative learning design, to help sport scientists, experimental psychologists, and pedagogues recognize the potential application of Brunswik's original concepts, and to ensure functionality and action fidelity in training and learning environments.

Movement organization of cricket batters' actions was analyzed under three distinct experimental task constraints: a representative condition of a practice context in which the batters batted against a "live" bowler, a ball projection machine, and a near life-size video simulation of a bowler. Results showed that each distinct set of task constraints led to significant variations in the patterns of movement control. Removal of advanced information sources from a bowler's actions when the batters faced the ball projection machine caused significant delays in movement initiation, resulting in reduced peak bat swing velocities and a reduction in the quality of bat-ball contact, when compared with batting against a "live" bowler. When responding to a two-dimensional video simulation, batters were able to use information from the bowlers' action, enabling fidelity of initial behavioral responses consistent with the task of batting against a "live" bowler. However, without interceptive task requirements or actual ball flight information, significant variations in downswing initiation timing and peak bat velocities were demonstrated. Findings stress the need for representative experimental and learning designs in fast ball sports for developing performers.

Phone: +61 7 3138 9673 AFFECTIVE LEARNING DESIGN AND EXPERTISE IN SPORT 2 AbstractObjectives and method: Developing expertise in sport requires the design of learning environments and athlete development programmes that successfully sample and represent conditions of performance contexts during practice. This premise is captured by the concept of representative learning design, founded on an ecological dynamics approach to acquiring skill in sport, and predicated on the mutuality of the individual-environment relationship as the appropriate level of analysis. In this position paper we argue that to effectively develop expertise in sport, the role of affect (emotion) should be considered in the representative design of learning experiences.Results and Conclusions: We discuss how ongoing interactions between affect, cognitions, perceptions and actions, provide a principled basis for affective learning designs in sport.Considering the role of affect in learning environments has clear implications for how sport psychologists, athletes and coaches might collaborate to enhance the acquisition of expertise in sport.

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