Hmmm.... This interesting thread (thanks Jan!) has three things going on...
1/ Not doing a walkround, or not doing it properly... it's making me think how casual could this vital thing have become... personally I try to walkround every time as if the examiner is looking over my shoulder on the day of my flight test... focuses the mind on the job in hand.
2/ Much more difficult is it can be really 'embedded' psychologically - pushing when you should pull and actions of that ilk (eg throttle actions when changing from one type to another and back) - light aircraft ergonomics are probably not top of the design list so I guess being really sure or reminding oneself before you fly about what key controls actually do?
3/ In the last post... what happens in the 'panic' situation (e.g. the student who went through checks before shutting down in an emergency).. do we do enough emergency training and refresher... so that our mind does not 'freeze' at a critical moment.
I like threads like this... they really make me think!
Mike