Unifying Rules for Simplified Information Processing in Action – Less is More

This article seeks to integrate motor heuristics (Raab, 2017) and movement analogies (Masters, 2000) into a new theory, the Theory of Simplified Information Processing in Action. Following the two-step theory integration program by Gigerenzer (2017), we first describe the commonalities and differences of empirical phenomena associated with motor heuristics and movement analogies, before we analyze how the two concepts produce functionally equivalent outcomes. Both motor heuristics and movement analogies try to explain how motor control and motor learning can be optimized, especially in circumstances of potential information overload. They emphasize the power of simplicity, postulating that “less-is-more” when it comes to the information that needs to be processed to enable successful sports performance. Motor heuristics simplify movement selection by rank ordering information, whereas movement analogies are thought to simplify movement execution by chunking information. We consider rank ordering and chunking as functionally equivalent cognitive means to achieve simplified information processing during actions and, thus, facilitating motor performance in circumstances of potential information overload. The Theory of Simplified Information Processing in Action encourages researchers to investigate underlying mechanisms of simplified information processing during actions and informs practitioners how to stabilize and improve performance by simplifying information processing.