What are the three stages in the Fitts & Posner model of motor learning?

• A. Cognitive Stage, Associative Stage, Autonomous Stage
• B. Initiation, Execution, Termination
• C. Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3
• D. Preparation, Performance, Post-analysis

Answer: (A)

Learning a motor skill progresses from conscious processing to automatic control. In the cognitive stage, the learner is figuring out what to do, relies heavily on instructions and visual guidance, and movement is slow and error-prone as they establish a basic plan. In the associative stage, practice helps connect cues to actions; errors continue to decline and movements become smoother and more coordinated as the performer relies more on feedback and proprioception. In the autonomous stage, the skill becomes automatic, executed with little conscious attention, yielding fast, efficient, and consistent performance that can be carried out while focusing on other tasks or goals. This progression—cognitive, associative, autonomous—is what the model describes. The other options describe general performance phases or nonstandard labels that don’t capture the distinct progression of cognitive to automatic control in motor learning.