Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 13, 2026
Uncovering Beat Deafness: Detecting Rhythm Disorders with Synchronized Finger Tapping and Perceptual Timing Tasks
Published on: March 16, 2015
Temporal precision in tapping and circle drawing movements at preferred rates is not correlated: further evidence
H N Zelaznik1, R M Spencer, J G Doffin
1Department of Health, Kinesiology and Leisure Studies, Purdue University, Purdue University Neuroscience Program, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA. hnzelaz@purdue.edu
Abstract:
Recently, researchers have discovered that individuals who are consistent timers in a tapping task are not necessarily consistent timers when they perform a continuous drawing task. In other words, nonsignificant correlations were found among tapping and drawing movements for timing precision (S. D. Robertson et al., 1999). In the present experiment, the authors investigated whether or not consistency in timing for tapping and drawing was correlated when participants (N = 24) were allowed to move at their preferred rate of movement. There were no significant correlations between tapping and drawing in terms of timing precision. That result lends further support to the notion that timing behavior is specific to the nature of the task, and thus further weakens the idea that timing is a generalized ability that can be imposed on a variety of different types of tasks.
