Origins of manual preference and performance abilities in children and adults

儿童和成人手动偏好和表现能力的起源

• 批准号: 222855-2011
• 负责人: Bryden, Pamela
• 金额: $ 1.75万
• 依托单位: Wilfrid Laurier University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2015-01-01 至 2016-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=570209
• 关键词: Origins; manual; preference; performance; abilities

The preference to perform most unimanual tasks with one hand is an intriguing human characteristic. One notable aspect of hand preference is that certain tasks tend to elicit stronger preferences and greater selection of the preferred hand than other tasks. Likewise, the magnitude of the preferred-hand advantage depends heavily on the task examined. However, no consensus has been reached on the reason for the task dependence, and little research has been conducted to examine the developmental course of manual preference and performance abilities. Research conducted in my laboratory has attempted to better understand how the type of task influences manual preference and performance abilities in both children and adults. We have found that there are two main factors that strongly preference and performance abilities: the precision requirements of the task and the object characteristics, or affordance of the object. However, questions remain concerning how the type of task influences manual preference and performance abilities in both children and adults, how attentional resources are allocated during these tasks, and whether movement direction is an important moderating variable. Therefore, building on the previous work conducted in my laboratory, the purpose of the current research proposal is to examine a) the role of precision requirements; b) the role of tool use and object affordances; and c) the role of body-centred movement in hand preference and hand performance in left- and right-handed (LH & RH) children and adults; d) the allocation of attention in bimanual hand performance in LH and RH adults; e) language lateralization and the effects of movement direction on manual asymmetries in LH and RH adults; and f) how task features influence hand preference and performance abilities in special populations. As a great deal of controversy still surrounds the issue of the origins of hand preference and the preferred-hand advantage, and in particular the development of both, closer examination of the determinants of these behaviours will provide insight into the neural specialization of the two hemispheres. This work will ultimately contribute to a developmental theoretical model of handedness and manual performance abilities.

喜欢用一只手完成大多数单手的任务是一个耐人寻味的人类特征。手偏好的一个值得注意的方面是，与其他任务相比，某些任务往往会引起更强的偏好和对首选手的更多选择。同样，优先手优势的大小在很大程度上取决于所考察的任务。然而，关于任务依赖的原因还没有达成共识，很少有人对手工偏好和操作能力的发展过程进行考察。在我的实验室进行的研究试图更好地理解任务类型如何影响儿童和成年人的手工偏好和表现能力。我们发现，有两个主要因素强烈地偏好和执行能力：任务的精度要求和对象的特征，或对象的承受能力。然而，问题仍然存在：任务类型如何影响儿童和成人的手动偏好和操作能力，注意资源在这些任务中是如何分配的，以及运动方向是否是一个重要的调节变量。因此，在我实验室以前工作的基础上，目前的研究方案的目的是考察a)精度要求的作用；b)工具使用和物体承受能力的作用；c)身体中心运动在左撇子和右撇子儿童和成人手偏好和手操作中的作用；d)左撇子和右撇子成人双手操作中的注意力分配；e)语言偏侧化和移动方向对左撇子和右撇子成人手动不对称性的影响；以及f)任务特征如何影响特殊人群的手偏好和操作能力。由于关于手偏好的起源和优先手优势的问题，尤其是两者的发展仍有很大的争议，对这些行为的决定因素的更仔细的研究将提供对两个半球的神经专门化的洞察。这项工作最终将有助于建立惯用手和手工操作能力的发展理论模型。