As skills become automatic, considerably less thought is necessary to effectively complete the task. This allows skilled performers to attend to other relevant cues in the environment instead of the particular movement. A novice performer has to manage more information when learning a new motor skill and consequently possesses less attentional capacity. Novices are more likely to experience anxiety during unfamiliar situations. When novice performer are in competitive situations, they attempt to consciously monitor the process of performance.
Skilled performers are better able to correct for extraneous influences on motor skill.
For example, compared to an novice, an experienced athlete may have a greater chance to deliver an object to a target while enduring a bodily strike or crowd noise. Novices may more easily attend to distracting irrelevant cues. They specifically know what information to attend to and are better able to focus in on these cues. Skilled performers may wait until the last possible moment in anticipation for a stimulus that may provide better information. An elite quarterback may be a good example of a skilled athlete who will choose to wait until the last possible moment to react.