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Attention for action: coordinating bimanual reach-to-grasp movements
G M Jackson1, S R Jackson, A Kritikos
1Centre for Perception, Attention and Motor Sciences, School of Psychology, University of Wales, Bangor, UK. g.m.jackson@bangor.ac.uk
British Journal of Psychology (London, England : 1953)
|June 11, 1999
Summary
Performing two movements at once incurs a performance cost. However, kinematic measures of bimanual reach-to-grasp movements are unaffected by whether the actions are congruent or incongruent, suggesting independent scaling of movement velocity and grip aperture.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Motor Control
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Concurrent performance of tasks incurs a performance cost.
- Previous research primarily used response time (RT) to study divided attention.
- Understanding divided attention in motor responses requires kinematic analysis.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate how attention is divided during concurrent bimanual reach-to-grasp movements.
- Examine kinematic differences between congruent and incongruent bimanual actions.
- Relate findings to theories of motor coordination and attention for action.
Main Methods:
- Studied bimanual reach-to-grasp movements towards two targets.
- Manipulated movement amplitude (Experiment 1) and object size (Experiment 2).
- Analyzed kinematic measures (e.g., movement velocity, grip aperture) and movement duration.
Main Results:
- A general performance cost was observed for simultaneous movements.
- Kinematic measures were not affected by action congruency (same vs. different actions).
- Incongruent movements were managed by synchronizing limb movement duration.
Conclusions:
- Divided attention in bimanual actions does not impact kinematic parameters like velocity and grip aperture.
- Limb synchronization and independent scaling facilitate concurrent, incongruent movements.
- Findings inform theories of motor coordination and attention for action, particularly in dual-task scenarios.