Tactile and kinesthetic perceptual processes within the taxonomy of human cognitive abilities

Abstract

The vast majority of research in psychology has been preoccupied with understanding visual and auditory processes. Clearly, however, other perceptual mechanisms generate meaningful individual differences, which might be related to intelligent functioning. The present study extends the results of a recent multivariate investigation examining certain critical features of the tactile and kinesthetic modalities. Participants ( N=116) were administered eight traditional psychometric instruments and 14 measures of tactile and kinesthetic perceptual processes. The results are consistent with earlier findings in demonstrating that visual–spatial processes are difficult to separate from complex measures of tactile and kinesthetic processing. However, structural equation modeling provided evidence for independent kinesthetic and tactile factors that were (differentially) correlated with fluid intelligence (Gf). The first factor — kinesthetic sensitivity (KS) — exemplifies an ability to determine (or remember) the position of the arm, or the trajectory of arm movements, without using vision. The second factor — tactile sensitivity (TS) — represents an ability to discriminate and infer the form of stimuli applied to the skin. These tactile and kinesthetic processes appear narrower than other perceptual constructs such that they are encapsulated by first-order (rather than broad intellective) factors.