Visual feedback,movement learning and the representation of movement

Two experiments on movement learning are reported where the orientation of a visual curve on a graphics terminal, defining a relatively complex arm movement, was either orthogonal to or compatible with the direction of the required movement. In addition, individual differences in spatial orientation and visualization abilities were correlated with motor performance. Results in both experiments showed that equivalent amounts of learning occurred in the two visual conditions. However, during transfer trials to the opposite condition, virtually no transfer occurred for the compatible group when they performed in the orthogonal condition whereas there was tranfer when the orthogonal group performed in the compatible condition. The results supported the idea that very early in learning the orthogonal orientation of visual curve promoted the development of an orientation processing stage which facilitated transrer performance of the orthogonal group. Integrating these results with the past literature on movement learning led to the notion that the orientation information processing stage can be considered a cognitive system that interacts with the image of the act. Finally, contrary to expectations, spatial orientation ability failed to account for any performance while spatial visualization ability moderately correlated with performance.     

Action,movement, and neurophysiology

Action is to be distinguished from (mere) bodily movement not by reference to an agent's intentions, or his conscious control of his movements (Sect. I), but by reference to the agent as cause of those movements, though this needs to be understood in a way which destroys the alleged distinction between agent‐causation and event‐causation (Sect. II). It also raises the question of the relation between an agent and his neurophysiology (Sect. III), and eventually the question of the compatibility of purposive and mechanistic accounts of human behaviour (Sect. IV). For the two to be compatible it is necessary that, e.g., intentions and brain states be not merely co‐existent but also causal equivalents, in a way which allows for the mechanical explanation of teleological states — or vice versa.     

Fear,faith, and movement

This paper describes the intra-psychic dynamics associated with faith development. Using James Fowler's stages of faith theory, the author attempts to demonstrate that growth in faith requires courage in order to confront the loss of self experienced in faith development. Using the work of Hartmann, Mahler, and Kegan in conjunction with the thought of Tillich regarding fear and faith, the article presents a process for transition from Fowler's stage four to stage five which relies heavily upon the interaction of the self and others for successful movement.Beth Causey is a student in the Master of Divinity Program at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago and a candidate for ordination in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The author acknowledges with gratitude the cogent comments of Homer U. Ashby, Jr., Ph.D., in the preparation of this article.     

Reaction time,movement time,and intelligence

Speed of information processing is measured in terms of reaction time (RT) and movement time (MT) to five stimulus displays which differ in the amount of information transmitted, over a range from 0 to 3 bits of information. RT, but not MT, increases as a linear function of the number of bits in the stimulus display. RT and MT show reliable individual differences which are significantly correlated with intelligence as measured by Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices.     

Efference,perceived movement,and illusory displacement

Implications of the efferent signal associated with voluntary eye movements as a mechanism of perceived motion are reviewed. This signal normally subserves motion perception during pursuit eye movements and is also present when the pursuit is activated to prevent loss of fixation. Such efferent signals are the basis of a number of illusory motion and displacement phenomena. The contribution of efferent motion mechanisms to the oculogyral and apparent concomitant motion illusions is discussed. The phenomenon of roll-induced tilt is analysed in terms of illusory motion and displacement associated with voluntary cyclotorsional eye movements.     

Experience, context, and the visual perception of human movement

Why are human observers particularly sensitive to human movement? Seven experiments examined the roles of visual experience and motor processes in human movement perception by comparing visual sensitivities to point-light displays of familiar, unusual, and impossible gaits across gait-speed and identity discrimination tasks. In both tasks, visual sensitivity to physically possible gaits was superior to visual sensitivity to physically impossible gaits, supporting perception-action coupling theories of human movement perception. Visual experience influenced walker-identity perception but not gait-speed discrimination. Thus, both motor experience and visual experience define visual sensitivity to human movement. An ecological perspective can be used to define the conditions necessary for experience-dependent sensitivity to human movement.     

Meanings of movement,place and home at Walsingham

This paper examines the revival, over the past 100 years, of the Catholic pilgrimage site of Walsingham. It argues that, for some habitual pilgrims, the site is akin to a second ‘home’, constituting a place for ‘dwelling in movement’. Contemporary pilgrimage practices not only establish links between local parishes and the Walsingham shrines, but also incorporate specific forms of mobility that express connections with personal, collective and institutional representations of the past. An examination of the site encourages the blurring of analytical distinctions between ‘local’ and ‘visitor’, and also poses questions concerning the relationship between culture, place and forms of belonging.     

Inhibitory control,conscious processing of movement and anxiety

It has been suggested that a high propensity for reinvestment (i.e., conscious processing of movements) can disrupt performance, but the mechanisms responsible are not well understood. The purpose of this study was to examine whether people with superior inhibition function (i.e., ability to suppress unwanted thoughts and behaviours) were better able to suppress conscious processing of their movements (i.e., reinvestment). Inhibition function was assessed using a Go/NoGo button-press task, and individual propensity for reinvestment was assessed using the Movement Specific Reinvestment Scale (MSRS) and the Decision-Specific Reinvestment Scale (DSRS). The results revealed positive associations between inhibition function and reinvestment propensity, with better inhibition function evident in people who displayed a higher propensity to reinvest (MSRS and DSRS). Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that trait anxiety moderated the relationship between inhibition and movement specific reinvestment, with higher MSRS scores associated with better inhibition function in people with low trait anxiety. This association was not significant among people with high trait anxiety. Possible explanations for these results are discussed.     

Shape, height and angular movement in stereokinesis

Cues affecting the apparent height (depth) of a stereokinetic 'core' were investigated by comparing heights for pairs of rotating figures. Apparent height was shown to be independent of the number of bands on the figure and of the geometric perspective by which it was drawn. On the other hand, apparent height was strongly dependent on eccentricity within the figure, with maximum apparent height being achieved at full eccentricity. The reason for the existence of such a definite maximum remains obscure.     

Tendencies to eye movement,and misperception of curvature,direction, and length

From previous studies of eye movements, three types of eye-movement tendency can be inferred: (1) tendency to rectilinear eye movements, (2) tendency to horizontal or vertical eye movements, and (3) tendency to center-of-gravity fixations. The possible influence of these eye-movement tendencies on perception was investigated in two experiments. In Experiment 1, errors in perceived location of intersection in arc figures were studied varying arc-point distance and are length. Tendencies 1 and 2 accounted very well for the resultant S-shaped functions. In Experiment 2, the Müller-Lyer illusion with three different oblique angles and a line-segment illusion were measured as a function of the distance between the vertex and the center of gravity of the arrowhead. Tendency 3 accounted well for the inverted-U forms of the obtained functions but not for the increase of error with increasing angle.     

Transforming Better Babies into Fitter Families: archival resources and the history of American eugenics movement, 1908-1930

In the early 1920s, determinist conceptions of biology helped to transform Better Babies contest into Fitter Families competitions with a strong commitment to controlled human breeding. While the earlier competitions were concerned for physical and mental standards, the latter contests collected data on a broad range of presumed hereditary characters. The complex behaviors thought to be determined by one's heredity included being generous, jealous, and cruel. In today's context, the popular media often interpret advances in molecular genetics in a similarly reductive and determinist fashion. This paper argues that such a narrow interpretation of contemporary biology unnecessarily constrains the public in developing social policies concerning complex social behavior ranging from crime to intelligence.     

Human movement initiation: specification of arm, direction, and extent

This article presents a method for discovering how the defining values of forthcoming body movements are specified. In experiments using this movement precuing technique, information is given about some, none, or all of the defining values of a movement that will be required when a reaction signal is presented. It is assumed that the reaction time (RT) reflects the time to specify those values that were not precued. With RTs for the same movements in different precue conditions, it is possible to make detailed inferences about the value specification process for each of the movements under study. The present experiments were concerned with the specification of the arm, direction, and extent (or distance) of aimed hand movements. In Experiment 1 it appeared that (a) specification times during RTs were longest for arm, shorter for direction, and shortest for extent, and (b) these values were specified serially but not in an invariant order. Experiment 2 suggested that the precuing effects obtained in Experiment 1 were not attributable to stimulus identification. Experiment 3 suggested that subjects in Experiment 1 did not use precues to prepare sets of possible movements from which the required movement was later selected. The model of value specification supported by the data is consistant with a distinctive-feature view, rather than a hierarchical view, of motor programming.     

The detection of slow stimulus movement in 2- to 5-month-olds

Preferences for moving over static bars were assessed in 8-, 16-, and 20-week-old human infants. The display consisted of two adjacent horizontal bars one of which moved with one of four velocities (0.70, 1.4, 2.8 or 5.6 degrees/s) through one of four distances (11, 22, 44, or 88 arcmin) before reversing and traveling in the other direction at the same velocity. No significant preferences for motion were obtained at 8 weeks. At both 16 and 20 weeks of age, however, preferences for motion were determined exclusively by the velocity of the movement and were unaffected by the excursion of the bar. The minimum velocities that elicited significant preferences for motion were 5.08 degrees/s and 2.32 degrees/s at 16 and 20 weeks of age, respectively. The more attentive 20-week-olds, however, showed significant preferences for motion above a velocity of approximately 1.8 degrees/s. The addition of static reference bars had little influence on these preferences for motion in 20-week-olds; preferences were again related exclusively to the velocity of the bar's movement. The results are discussed in terms of the development of motion-sensitive mechanisms within the visual system.     

Spontaneous covariations of movement parameters in 5- to 7-year-old boys

The kinematic parameters of to and fro forearm movements in the horizontal plane were investigated in 5- to 7-year-old boys. In one condition, the period of the movements was induced by an acoustic stimulus, while the amplitude was left free. In a second condition, the amplitude of the swing was suggested by a visual frame, but the movement was self-paced. In both conditions, the unconstrained variable (amplitude and period, respectively) was found to covary spontaneously with the constrained variable. The results suggest that, within the age range considered here, motor control processes do not conceive of amplitude and velocity as two independent variables.