The Role of Feedback in Manual Tracking of Visual Targets

The role of visual feedback in manual tracking was investigated in 24 subjects who tracked 5-, 10-, and 40-mm/diameter targets, moving on a screen at 18 to 25 mm/sec., along various paths, by moving an unseen handle over a digitizing tablet. A cursor indicating instantaneous handle position was visi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Perceptual and motor skills 2000-06, Vol.90 (3_suppl), p.1235-1248
Main Authors: Hocherman, Shraga, Levy, Hanna
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Discrimination (Psychology)
Eyes & eyesight
Feedback
Female
Form Perception
Functional Laterality
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Models, Psychological
Motion Perception
Motor Skills
Orientation
Psychology
Psychomotor Performance
Reaction Time
Sensory perception
Size Perception
Space life sciences
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Summary:The role of visual feedback in manual tracking was investigated in 24 subjects who tracked 5-, 10-, and 40-mm/diameter targets, moving on a screen at 18 to 25 mm/sec., along various paths, by moving an unseen handle over a digitizing tablet. A cursor indicating instantaneous handle position was visible at all times on half the trials and hidden within a circle coaxial with the target but double its diameter in the other half. The handle had to be within the instantaneous target's digitizer-defined boundaries for the latter to keep moving. All tracking movements were segmented into small movement steps. A tendency to outrun the target was seen, indicating predictive control. Absence of visual feedback had negligible effect on movement velocity. Movement direction appeared to involve open-loop programming but improved significantly when subjects could see the cursor. Occasional corrective movements occurred only when visual feedback was given. Otherwise, a large positional error accumulates despite reasonable ability to control tracking direction.
ISSN:0031-5125
1558-688X
DOI:10.2466/pms.2000.90.3c.1235