Perceptual-motor Task Research Articles

Perpetual retraining in an adult cerebral palsy patient: A case of a deficit in cross-modal equivalence

Abstract A 23-year-old cerebral palsy patient with multiple perceptual-motor impairments was found, on testing, to have a severe deficiency in cross-modal transfer, which could account for many of these impairments. A training program to improve performance on cross-modal transfer problems was designed based on Gibson's developmental model of perceptual learning. The training was carried out over a one-year period. The patient's performance improved on cross-modal tasks as well as on perceptual-motor tasks for which there had been no specific training. This study indicates that even long-standing neuropsychological deficits are amenable to training.

Prediction of later cognitive behavior from early school perceptual-motor, perceptual, and cognitive performances.

Multiple regression equations were generated to predict cognitive achievement for 189 young children (ages 57 to 92 mo.) 1 yr. after original administration of a battery of perceptual-motor, perceptual, and cognitive tests. Regression equations generated from maximum R2 improvement techniques indicated that a battery of perceptual and perceptual-motor performances at pre-kindergarten is useful for prediction of cognitive performance 1 yr. later at kindergarten level. This battery included one fine and two gross perceptual-motor tasks, and one visual and two auditory perceptual tasks. Inclusion of original cognitive performances did not improve the optimal prediction equation for this age group. In contrast, cognitive achievement at first grade and, particularly, at second grade levels was best predicted from knowledge of earlier cognitive performances.

Two Teaching Styles, Problem Solving, and Guided Discovery in Motor Performance and Learning

Three groups of 25 matched subjects (aged 10 to 12 yr.) took part in this study. In the practice condition one group performed the solution of the Tinkertoy Motorcycle Model in a problem-solving manner, while the other two groups performed in a guided manner. One guided group performed the same number of trials as the problem-solving group, while the other group had the same total time performing each trial as the problem-solving group. Their relative effectiveness was compared on the six initial practice trials and on six trials after a period of no practice. The problem-solving group received no direct assistance. The guided groups saw two demonstrations of the assembling procedure along with verbal feedback as to the selection and placement of pieces on the figure. The guided groups performed the task significantly faster than the problem-solving group on all practice trials. When measured for retention there were no significant differences among groups. The two guided groups however did maintain a slight advantage over the problem-solving group. It was concluded the practice of the perceptual motor task was facilitated by a guided discovery, while retention was not significantly different. The results are discussed in relation to learning strategies and type of task.

Effects of clinical dosage levels of methylphenidate on two-flash thresholds and perceptual motor performance in hyperactive children.

Three groups (ns = 10) of children (normals, hyperactives, hyperactives on medication) were administered eight perceptual-motor tasks. The normal controls were significantly superior in performance in comparison with the hyperactives taken off methylphenidate on three tasks but only superior on one task (Digit Symbol) when compared to hyperactives on methylphenidate. The hyperactives on medication were also significantly superior to the hyperactives not on medication on the Digit Symbol task.

Effect of Mass Loading on the Performance of a Linear Positioning Task

To determine the effect of mass loading on the performance of a skilled perceptual-motor task, measures of performance (in terms of number of correct responses) were obtained for 40 blindfolded undergraduate subjects on a linear positioning task under conditions of 0-gm., 909-gm., 1,818-gm., 2,727-gm., and 3,636-gm. manipulandum loads. With respect to the performance measure, the increasing load conditions produced an inverted U-function, with 1,818 gm. resulting in the best performance and 0 gm. producing the poorest performance. It was concluded that skilled perceptual-motor performance can be improved by optimizing the physical characteristics of the manipulandum. The results were interpreted in terms of the augmentation of both attention and kinesthetic information.

<title>Operator Performance Using Conventional Or Stereo Video Displays</title>

Three studies were conducted to evaluate operator performance with conventional and stereo display systems. The first two studies involved perceptual judgment tasks (a modified Howard-Dolman depth discrimination test and a test of stereopsis, using random dot Julesz patterns), while the third employed a perceptual-motor task requiring end-effector positioning and closure. This third task was designed to approximate the major compo-nents of undersea object recovery missions. In studies One and Two, two methods of displaying stereo information (Fresnel, Field Sequential) were compared. The results of Study One indicate that both of these display systems provide adequate information to enhance performance over that given with a conventional monocular display. Study Two indicates that thresholds of stereo viewing are comparable using the Fresnel system and the Field Sequential system. The data indicate no dif-ference in thresholds over those obtained directly without viewer aids. In Study Three a conventional display was compared with the Field Sequential system used in studies One and Two. The results indicate that the use of stereo cues reduces both response latency and errors significantly. An analysis of performance changes over repeated testing ses-sions indicates significant improvement on both variables. These effects, however, are nondifferential across display systems, and are probably related to the acquisition of manipulator-specific motor-skill learning.

Isodecrement curves for task performance in hot environments

This paper proposes a set of isodecrement curves for performance of perceptual motor tasks as a function of temperature and exposure time. Tasks studied include reaction time, mental tasks, vigilance, tracking, complex tasks, and combination of these tasks.

Regulation of activity: an analytical tool for studying work-load in perceptual motor tasks.

Abstract Work-load imposed on the operator performing perceptual-motor tasks subject to rigid time-constraints may be analysed by investigating methods of regulation between various psychophysiological functions. This is particularly true for the study of relationships between operating methods and postural activity, and also by the change in these relationships over time. Thus we appear to have a method for analysis of external and internal constraints on the operator, additional to the tool for evaluating the physiological cost entailed in meeting work demand, provided by the E.M.G. Results are presented from industrial studies of electronic component assembly and contrasted with laboratory findings. Combination of the two types of study is seen to be necessary and important for analysis of work-load.

Psychological mood states in children related to performance on a perceptual motor task

In order to assess the validity properties of Curran's Eight State Questionnaire (8SQ), 7th, 8th and 9th grade students were asked to perform on a perceptual motor task immediately after completing the state battery. Depending how they scored on each of the state scales (anxiety, regression, arousal, fatigue, introversion, stress and depression), the children were divided into High and Low groups. Performance measures consisted of distance completed in the task, number of errors made and an estimate of efficiency (errors per unit distance). In general, evidence of concrete validity for the pencil and paper state measures was found although it did not take the form originally hypothesized. Specifically, it was found that in many cases the High groups made significantly more errors than the Low groups (e.g. High anxiety vs. Low anxiety) but that usually no differences in efficiency were noted.

An Analysis of Motor Coordination Components for Various Localization Tasks

Localization abilities of subjects in three perceptual-motor tasks were considered before and after an exposure to a visual distortion. During this distortion the subject observed his hand ballistically point to an invisible but audible target while either receiving or not receiving knowledge of results (KR) concerning pointing accuracy. Also, subjects either received a 1-or a 4-sec rest period between each of 30 exposure ballistic pointing actions. The pre-and postexposure tasks involved the ability of a subject to accurately point to an occluded and stationary auditory target, to point to the straight-ahead position in space, and to indicate when a moving, auditory target was perceived as being in the straight-ahead position. For these tasks, the pre-vs. postexposure localization difference scores are referred to as the negative aftereffect, the proprioceptive shift, and the auditory shift, respectively. Wilkinson’s (1971) two-component additive model (negative aftereffect=proprioceptive shift plus auditory shift) held when KR was given regardless of amount of rest between exposure pointing responses. With a 4-sec rest and no KR, the relationship between coordination components was nonadditive (negative aftereffect greater than proprioceptive shift plus auditory shift).

An Analysis of Motor Coordination Components for Various Localization Tasks

Localization abilities of subjects in three perceptual-motor tasks were considered before and after an exposure to a visual distortion. During this distortion the subject observed his hand ballistically point to an invisible but audible target while either receiving or not receiving knowledge of results (KR) concerning pointing accuracy. Also, subjects either received a 1- or a 4-sec rest period between each of 30 exposure ballistic pointing actions. The pre- and postexposure tasks involved the ability of a subject to accurately point to an occluded and stationary auditory target, to point to the straight-ahead position in space, and to indicate when a moving, auditory target was perceived as being in the straight-ahead position. For these tasks, the pre- vs. postexposure localization difference scores are referred to as the negative aftereffect, the proprioceptive shift, and the auditory shift, respectively. Wilkinson's (1971) two-component additive model (negative aftereffect = proprioceptive shift plus auditory shift) held when KR was given regardless of amount of rest between exposure pointing responses. With a 4-sec rest and no KR, the relationship between coordination components was nonadditive (negative aftereffect greater than proprioceptive shift plus auditory shift).

A Composite View of Task Performance in Hot Environments

This paper proposes a set of isodecrement curves for performance of perceptual motor tasks as a function of temperature and exposure time. Tasks studied include reaction time, mental tasks, vigilance and tracking.

Teachers' Perceptions of Distractibility: Two-Year Follow-up

In a previous study children rated by their first grade teachers as distractible took significantly longer to complete perceptual motor tasks than children who were rated as nondistractible ( 1 ) . The present study was designed to determine whether ratings of distractibility obtained in the first grade were predictive of subsequent ratings of distractibility by third grade teachers. A second purpose was to determine whether distractibility ratings by first grade teacheis were predictive of differences in later measures of academic performan~e.~ Subjects for the present study consisted of 29 third grade males (10 distractible and 19 nondistractible) who were still in the same city school system by the end of the third grade. In the first grade IQs on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test for white distractible subjects and nondistractible subjectsa were not significantly different. The mean IQ was 121 for distractible subjects and 114 for nondistractible subjects. Third grade teachers rated children on distractibility according to the same procedure used by Somemill, et al. ( 1 ) . All subjects were administered the Reading and Arithmetic subtests of the Wide Range Achievement Test. The data obtained for the third grade were compared with those for first grade. Subjects rated as distractible in the first grade were also rated as significantly more distractible than nondistractible subjects by their third grade teachers ( t n = 2.70, S D = 14.08 and 9.77 respectively, p < .01). Distractible subjects scored significantly lower than nondistractible subjects on the arithmetic subtest of the Wide Range Achievement Test ( t n = 2.49, SD = 2.20 and 3.33 respectively, p < .01) but not on the reading subtest. Thus the perception of distractibility by third grade teachers was consistent with earlier ratings by first grade teachers. Limited evidence was also provided for the assumption that distractibility ratings may be predictive of later differences in academic performance.

Rate and Level of Learning as Functions af Information-Processing Characteristics of the Learner and the Task

This study examined relationships among information-processing characteristics of the learner, dominant information-processing component of tasks, and the rate and level of mastery of selected motor tasks. Sixth grade children (n=60) were classified as high, moderate, or low visual and/or proprioceptive information processors and asked to learn a fine perceptual-motor task and one of two gross perceptual-motor tasks that differed in the relative importance of visual and proprioceptive components. When visual and proprioceptive demands of a task were equivalent, high information processors showed higher levels of task mastery than low information processors; when proprioceptive tasks demands were dominant, results were equivocal. If processing demands were high, high proprioceptive information processors exhibited higher performance than did low subjects. When demands were less, performance level was not significantly affected. Rate of task mastery was never affected by these factors.

Piracetam‐induced improvement of mental performance

A double-blind, intra-individual cross-over comparison of the mental performance of 18 aging, non-deteriorated individuals during two 4-week periods of piracetam (1-acetamide-2-pyrrolidone) and placebo administration was performed using conventional and computerized perceptual-motor tasks. In a majority of these tasks the subjects did significantly better when on piracetam than on placebo, a finding consistent with ratings completed by two independent observers. The findings indicate new avenues for the treatment of individuals with reduced mental performance possibly related to disturbed alertness--a neglected group of psychiatric conditions.

Combined Tracking and Monitoring Performance over Seven Hours under Noise

Twenty volunteer, paid, males performed a task requiring (a) pursuit tracking of a CRT display target using a joystick control, plus (b) concurrent monitoring of a warning light and two panel meters located peripherally to the central task. During the task which lasted seven hours 10 subjects were exposed to rapid, intermittent pulses of broadband noise of 91 dB(A) peak intensity; the other 10 subjects performed in “quiet”. Recordings of eye movements were made to determine attention to the time-shared, peripheral tasks. No significant differences in performance were found (a) for the noise variable or (b) between “high” and “low” annoyance sensitive subjects as categorized by scores on a Noise Annoyance Sensitivity Scale. While tracking performance declined over time, meter monitoring performance did not, nor was there evidence that eye movements to the peripheral events decreased over time. The results fail to support the view that narrowing of attention occurs in perceptual-motor tasks involving time-sharing of attention to central and peripheral events when such a task is performed over a prolonged period of time.

Pitch control in the human voice.

Deutsch and Clarkson have suggested that pitch control corrections made by subjects attempting to sing a fixed frequency occur about 10 times/s, i.e. much faster than those found in other perceptual-motor tasks. This evidence was evaluted using the technique of delayed auditory feedback, with delay intervals of up to 120 ms. A distinction was made between an explanation in which control corrections are applied on every half cycle of the vibrato, as Deutsch and Clarkson suggested, and one in which the output is sampled over a longer period before any control correction is imposed. There was no indication that exceptionally fast control corrections can be made in vocal pitch regulation.

The Effects of Task Coherency, Preview, and Speed-Stress on Timing And Anticipation

High levels of skill displayed in perceptual-motor tasks can only be obtained by accurate timing and anticipation. Recent evidence indicates that task characteristics that change or alter the predictability of stimulus events are potent determiners of performance. The effects of stimulus predictability on timing and anticipation were investigated in a series of studies where subjects responded to moving stimuli that entered critical zones on each of three visual displays. Specific task characteristics that changed the predictability of the stimulus sequence and significantly affected performance in the studies included task coherency, preview, speed-, and load-stress.

Computer-assisted design in perceptual-motor skills research.

A categorization was made of independent variables previously found to be potent in simple perceptual-motor tasks. A computer was then used to generate hypothetical factorial designs. These were evaluated in terms of literature trends and pragmatic criteria. Potential side-effects of machine-assisted research strategy were discussed.

Relationships among perceptual-motor tasks: Tracing and copying.

Relationships among perceptual-motor tasks: Tracing and copying.