Intermovement interval and spatial assimilation effects in sequential bimanual and unimanual movements

Abstract

This study extended earlier work by showing spatial assimilations in sequential bimanual and unimanual movements separated by 1.5–3.5 s. In Experiments 1 and 2, 30 right-handed participants (18–22 years of age) made rapid single and bimanual lever reversals of 20° and 60° assigned to 1.5, 2.5, or 3.5 s intermovement interval groups. Participants self-timed the intermovement interval in the first experiment, but it was provided in the second experiment using separate auditory stimuli. In the third experiment, participants performed both the 20° and 60° movement with the same hand. In all experiments, the shorter-distance limb overshot and the longer-distance limb undershot the targets in both bimanual and unimanual sequential movements relative to single movements in all three intermovement interval groups, particularly in the non-dominant left limb. The results suggest that assimilation effects in sequential movements are caused by command interactions at the planning level, but the effects are reduced by practice.