Serial Action as a Basic Measure of Motor Capacity

Authors

C. Frederick Hansen

Document Type

Research

Abstract

Motor tests involving "continuous discriminative reactions" or "serial action" are being standardized by the psychologist with the end in view of reproducing, in dealing with his practical problems, the actual conditions of simple daily motor activities more closely than obtained in the traditional reaction time tests. These newer measures of motor capacity recognize the essentially fluid character of stimuli and reactions - their fundamentally continuous interplay, which is apparent not only in simple motor achievements like walking or handling tools, but also in the complex activities of the musician, the telegrapher, the typist, or the expert mechanician. In the analysis, therefore, of motor capacities for clinical, vocational, or industrial purposes, the performance of a subject in a standardized test of serial action may serve as an index of his basic motor capacity, applicable to many problems.

Publication Date

1920

Journal Title

Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science

Volume

27

Issue

1

First Page

234

Last Page

235

Copyright

©1920 Iowa Academy of Science, Inc.

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

Recommended Citation

Hansen, C. Frederick (1920) "Serial Action as a Basic Measure of Motor Capacity," Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science, 27(1), 234-235.
Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/pias/vol27/iss1/45