Adult performance on the Southern California Kinesthesis and Tactile Perception Tests

Researchers and clinicians working with various adult populations have no practical, complete, reliable, and valid method of measuring the tactile and kinesthetic functions of their clients. This study gathers preliminary normative information on the performance of adults on the Southern California Kinesthesia and Tactile Tests. Fifty-one normal men and women with a mean age of 26 years were administered the Kinesthesia, Manual Form Perception, Finger Indentification, Graphesthesia, Localization of Tactile Stimuli, and Double Tactile Stimuli Tests in the order in which they were standardized. Test-retest reliability was studied in 41 of these subjects. Results indicated that the assessment of normal adults was hampered by ceiling effects and by low reliability, but that these six tests might well serve a useful function in discriminating between relatively severe dysfunction and normal function in adults. Suggestions were made toward the development of new measurement instruments specifically designed for adults.