The role of manual dominance and visual feedback in circular drawing movements
Category
Journal Article
Authors
Vinter, A., Meulenbroek, R. G. J.
Year
1993
Title
The role of manual dominance and visual feedback in circular drawing movements
Journal / book / conference
Journal of Human Movement Studies
Abstract
Two studies are reported which investigated the role of manual dominance and visual feedback on a syntactical graphic motor rule described by Van Sommers (1984) for the drawing of circles: "the start-rotation principle" (SRP). This principle links together a starting position and the direction of the rotational drawing movement. In the first experiment, the subjects were free to select a starting position when they copied the circles, while fixed starting positions were imposed in the second experiment. In both studies, the subjects were asked to copy the circles in four successive conditions: right hand and normal visual condition, right hand withouh vision, left hand and normal vision, left hand without vision. Right-handed children aged from 4 to 10 years and rigth-handed adults participated in the experiments. Results showed that although already present at 4 years, the SRP gains in strength between 4 and 10 years, and takes different forms at the different ages. Interestingly, the behavior of children aged around 7 years appears more strictly "rule-based" than that of older children. A clear hand effect is also reported (a shift from a "mirror" to a "parallel" behavior of both hands during development), while the role of visual feedback seems less incisive. Results are interpreted within a cognitive development framework which integrates both a lower level and a higher planning level of behavior analysis.
Volume
25
Pages
11-37