Deck 7: Performance and Motor Control Characteristics of Functional Skills

Question 1

The serve in tennis is a good example of an asymmetric bimanual skill.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Because we can write our signature relatively legibly with a pen held by either hand, either foot, or even by our teeth, researchers often describe handwriting as a good example of Bernstein's concept of motor:

A) Programs
B) Equivalence
C) Independence
D) Complexity

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Consider the following two prehension situations: a person reaches to pick up a cup to: (a) drink from it; (b) move it to a different location on the table. The kinematic characteristics of the transport phase for these two situations would:

A) Be similar
B) Be different
C) Depend on the characteristics of the cup
D) Not be predictable

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The Index of Difficulty (ID) that can be derived from Fitts' law demonstrates that the same task can have various levels of difficulty and the same amount of:

A) Movement speed
B) Response choices
C) Complexity
D) Performance variability

Question 5

The term used to describe a bimanual coordination task that requires the two hands to simultaneously perform movements that have the same spatial and temporal characteristics is ________.

Question 6

Although Fitts' law is based on manual aiming tasks, research has shown that it applies to prehension actions as well.

Question 7

When you reach to grasp an object, which of the following describes when the fingers begin to close?

A) At a consistent percentage of the total movement time
B) At a point that depends on the total movement time
C) At a point just before contact with the object
D) At contact with the object

Question 8

Fitts' Law specifies that performance will show a speed-accuracy trade-off in a rapid manual aiming task according to the relationship between which two characteristics of the task?

A) Distance to move and target size
B) Distance to move and movement speed
C) Target size and movement speed
D) Target size and type of target

Question 9

In a two-hand aiming task in which the right hand must move to a target that has an ID of 4, and the left hand must simultaneously move to a target that has an ID of 2, when will each hand arrive at the target?

A) The right hand will arrive much earlier than the left hand
B) The left hand will arrive much earlier than the right hand
C) The two hands will arrive at approximately the same time
D) The preferred hand will arrive first regardless of the ID

Question 10

The kinematic characteristics of a prehension action are the same as those for the actions of reaching or pointing.

Question 11

One of the current views of how we control prehension is that the transport and grasp phases function:

A) As one unit
B) Synergistically
C) As two motor programs
D) Independently

Question 12

The playing of a guitar is a good example of performing:

A) An asymmetric bimanual skill
B) A symmetric bimanual skill
C) A prehension skill
D) A manual aiming skill

Question 13

The rhythmic structure of the movements involved in gait can be observed:

A) Only in leg movements
B) Only in arm movements
C) In arm and leg movements
D) None of these

Question 14

That a person can adapt their handwriting to different surfaces, sizes, forces, etc., is an example of what Bernstein referred to as motor ________.

Question 15

When a person walks or runs, an essential goal of the motor control system is the maintenance of head _______.

Question 16

The three phases of prehension are called the transport phase, the grasp phase, and the ________ phase.

Question 17

A predominant view of gait control is that at the nervous system level, gait is controlled by central pattern ________.

Question 18

During the preparation phase of putting a key in a keyhole, you use vision to assess the regulatory conditions.

Question 19

Which of the following statements reflects the appropriate view of the spatial and temporal control underlying the performance of an asymmetric bimanual action?

A) The two arms prefer to move independently of each other
B) The two arms prefer to move together as one unit
C) The preferred arm always dominates the other arm
D) The two arms cannot perform an asymmetric bimanual action

Question 20

According to Fitts' Law, a person's movement time will be faster for a task with an ID of 6 than for an ID of 3.

Question 21

The "atypical" posture and gait characteristics we often observe in children and adults with cerebral palsy can be related to strategies the individuals have developed in order to maintain a stable head position during locomotion.

Question 22

Gait transitions, from walking to running and running to walking, occur at the same speed for all people.

Question 23

Central pattern generators, which are involved in the control of gait, are thought to be located primarily in the brain.

Question 24

The reason we have difficulty tapping our head and rubbing our belly at the same time with our two hands is that our motor control system is organized in such a way that our two hands prefer to move in the same ways at the same time.

Question 25

The ratios of number of arm swings to leg swings for walking and running are both 1:1 (i.e., one arm swing for one leg swing).