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A Naturalistic Setup for Presenting Real People and Live Actions in Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Studies

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Perspective on variability in the development of human action.

Linda Fetters¹

¹Health and Development, Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, Department of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, 1540 E. Alcazar St., CHP 155, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA. fetters@usc.edu

Physical Therapy

|October 23, 2010

Summary

Human variability is crucial for successful action and adaptation throughout life. Optimal function requires balancing variability, as too little or too much hinders skill development and dependable movement.

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Area of Science:

Motor control
Human action
Neuroplasticity

Background:

Human systems exhibit inherent variability in tissues and processes, enabling flexibility for growth and adaptation.
Theories of human action often assume a reduction in variability for skill acquisition.
Both reduced and excessive variability can impede functional action, particularly after neurological insult.

Purpose of the Study:

To explore the contribution of variability to successful human action.
To examine the role of variability in motor development and adaptation across the lifespan.
To discuss the implications of variability for rehabilitation and physical therapy.

Main Methods:

Conceptual analysis of human action and variability.
Review of existing theories on motor control and learning.
Discussion of clinical observations related to neurological insult.

Main Results:

Variability is essential for flexibility and adaptation to changing demands.
Lack of variability hinders skilled, functional action development.
Excessive variability interferes with automaticity and dependable movement production.

Conclusions:

Optimal human action depends on a balance of variability, not its elimination.
Therapeutic environments that encourage active problem-solving and self-produced actions are critical for functional recovery.
Physical therapists play a key role in designing interventions that manage variability for improved outcomes.