Attention and handedness in bimanual coordination dynamics

Eric L. Amazeen1, Polemnia G. Amazeen1,
Paul J. Treffner2and M. T. Turvey1

1 Center for the Ecological Study of Perception and Action, The University of Connecticut


2 Center for Complex Systems, Florida Atlantic University

Predictions concerning the effects of handedness and attention on bimanual coordination were made from a dynamical model that incorporates the body's lateral asymmetry. Both handedness and the direction of attention (to the left or right) were manipulated in an in-phase 1:1 frequency locking task. Left-handed and right-handed participants had to coordinate the planar oscillations of two hand-held pendulums while one pendulum oscillated between spatial targets positioned over either the left or right hand. Predictions from the model were that participants would show a phase lead with the preferred hand and that, although the phase lead would be greater when attention was directed to the preferred hand, the variability of relative phase would be lower. Confirmation of these predictions suggests that the dynamical perspective offers the possibility of studying handedness and attention without compromising theoretical precision or experimental control.

Abstract from:

Amazeen, E. L., Amazeen, P. G., Treffner, P. J., & Turvey, M. T. Attention and handedness in bimanual coordination dynamics. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance,23, 1552-1560.

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