Neuromotor Noise and Error Tolerance in Throwing Tasks
Author Information
Author(s): Dagmar Sternad, Masaki O. Abe, Xiaogang Hu, Hermann Müller
Primary Institution: Pennsylvania State University
Hypothesis
Do humans find solutions that are tolerant to intrinsic noise in motor tasks?
Conclusion
The study found that individuals prefer strategies that maximize error tolerance while minimizing velocity, even if it involves some risk.
Supporting Evidence
- Participants showed a preference for strategies that maximized error tolerance.
- Results indicated that individuals' strategies were sensitive to their own motor variability.
- Data distributions favored maximizing tolerance while minimizing velocity.
Takeaway
When throwing a ball, people try to make their throws as accurate as possible while also being careful not to throw too fast, which can lead to mistakes.
Methodology
Two experiments were conducted where participants threw a ball in a virtual setup to test their strategies under different conditions.
Potential Biases
Participants were naive to the experimental manipulations, which may introduce bias in their responses.
Limitations
The study focused only on kinematic aspects and did not consider biomechanical factors.
Participant Demographics
18 graduate students (11 male, 7 female, aged 22 to 30) from the Pennsylvania State University.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.05
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Want to read the original?
Access the complete publication on the publisher's website