Theories and models for 1/f(beta) noise in human movement science

Human motor behavior is often characterized by long-range, slowly decaying serial correlations or 1/f(beta) noise. Despite its prevalence, the role of the 1/f(beta) phenomenon in human movement research has been rather modest and unclear. The goal of this paper is to outline a research agenda in which the study of 1/f(beta) noise can contribute to scientific progress. In the first section of this article we discuss two popular perspectives on 1/f(beta) noise: the nomothetic perspective that seeks general explanations, and the mechanistic perspective that seeks domain-specific models. We believe that if 1/f(beta) noise is to have an impact on the field of movement science, researchers should develop and test domain-specific mechanistic models of human motor behavior. In the second section we illustrate our claim by showing how a mechanistic model of 1/f(beta) noise can be successfully integrated with currently established models for rhythmic self-paced, synchronized, and bimanual tapping. This model synthesis results in a unified account of the observed long-range serial correlations across a range of different tasks.