Soviet Psychology

ISSN: 0038-5751 (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/mrpo19

Continuous Sensory-Motor Responses in Humans

V. M. Vodlozerov & B. V. Lomov

To cite this article: V. M. Vodlozerov & B. V. Lomov (1970) Continuous Sensory-Motor

Responses in Humans, Soviet Psychology, 9:2, 170-180

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.2753/RPO1061-04050902170

Published online: 19 Dec 2014.

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 Problemy obshchei, sotsial'noi i
inzhenernoi psikhologii, 1968, No. 2, 47-55

V. M. Vodlozerov and B. V. Lomov

CONTINUOUS SENSORY -MOTOR

RESPONSES IN HUMANS

A vast amount of psychological and physiological data has

been accumulated on human responses as elementary models
of human behavior. The dynamic structure of human responses
in time and the characteristics of their sensory and motor
components have been described in detail, and their dependence
on a wide variety of factors has been revealed. Diverse aspects
of the mechanism regulating human motor responses have been
studied. (1)
spe -
However, most of these data have been obtained in studies of -
-
cific responses manifestedin discrete movements (or series of
discrete movements) in response to discrete signals or sequences
of signals (e.g., a simple sensory-motor response, a disjunctive
response, a response to a moving object, serial responses, etc.).
But in the real-life activity of a human being, he is often called
upon to solve problems requiring continuous alignment of move-
ments to a continuously changing signal (driving an automobile,
operating a crane, aiming a weapon, etc.). The responses con-
-
stituting this type of activity make up a special class of non-
specific responses.
An experimental investigation of this class of responses can
be useful in solving the many practical problems implicit in the

170
WINTER 1970-71 171

psychological principles underlying the development of "man -

machine" systems and involved in the training and selection of
machine operators.
Moreover, such an investigation is of exceptional value for
understanding the mechanisms of mental regulation of behavior.
It is precisely in nonspecific responses that the distinctive
features of these mechanisms appear most clearly, since in
order to realize such responses, movements must constantly be
accommodated to sense data that reflect a continually varying
environment.
In our experiments we studied the characteristics of responses
of a person engaged in tracking, for which the following features
are characteristic: (a) an externally programmed input signal
(as a function of time) determines the motor response by means
of which the person operates a control unit; (b) the control unit
generates an output signal; (c) the differencearising between
the input and output signals (misalignment) is the index of
tracking error. The task of the human operator is to reduce
this e r r o r to a minimum.
In our experiments we studied the simplest type of tracking,
i.e., with a one-dimensional signal. (2) The subject, seated in
a dimly lighted room, w a s required t o track a dark spot (the
target) moving steadily along an illuminated slot and to keep it
continually aligned with a sight by turning a handwheel. The end
of the sight w a s equipped with a pen to record the subject's r e -
sponse. The experimental setup has previously been described.
(3) A straight line was traced with India ink on the band of a
kymograph located behind the slot. A s the band moved, the sub-
ject saw a target that progressed at a rate dependent on the
angle of inclination of the line to the slot. The movements of the
pen attached to the sight were recorded over the line inscribed
on this band. From a comparison of the two superimposed lines
(the straight line describing the movement of the target, and the
curved line derived from the rotation of the wheel by the subject),
it was possible to determine the main indices of tracking
efficiency: the latency of response, the on-target time of
the sight, the magnitude of e r r o r at each moment of tracking,
172 SOVIET PSYCHOLOGY

and the rate and duration of each partial hand-movement.

The latency of response, i.e., the time lag between the setting
in motion of the target (signal) and the initiation of a response
movement by the subject, was a function of the rate of the sig-
nal. As this rate increased from 1 to 4 mm/sec, latency dimin-
ished from 0.65 to 0.25 sec, approaching the latency of a simple
sensory -motor response.
With further increase in the rate, the latency remained con-
stant (Fig. 1). In this case, a s in the case of a simple response,
the latency value is an index
t, sec of the inertness of the visual-

<
47 - motor system. It is the time
necessary for perception of a
Q4 signal and organization of a
motor
should response.
be observed
However,
that the it
Q3
a2
a1 - movement of the spot is not
L n I itself the signal in tracking
1 2 4 6 8 10
K Wsec responses: rather, it is the
discrepancy between the t a r -
Fig. 1. Decrease in time lag get and the sight (initial mis -
with increase in rate of alignment signal) that serves
target. Abscissa: rate of this function. It might be
point, in mm/sec; ordinate - assumed that the magnitude
time, in sec. of this signal is determined
either by the threshold of
visual acuity o r by the threshold of velocity perception, both of
which a r e approximately 1 angular minute. However, data on
latency at low velocities (1-4 mm/sec) show that the misalign-
ment signal begins to perform its triggering function only after
a considerably greater value has been reached (15-20 angular
minutes under our experimental conditions). Hence, we may
speak of an p e r a t i v e threshold of velocity and distance percep-
tion. (4)
A detailed analysis of the tracking process itself disclosed
that initially, and at low rates, tracking is accomplished through
a series of discrete partial movements, separated by relatively
WINTER 1970-71 173

t, soc v long pauses (Fig. 2). This is con-

firmed by the previous data of
Craik, Vince, and others. (5)
The table presents data on the
number of partial movements, their
rates, and durations, and on the
number and durations of pauses (for
a five-second tracking segment).
Many investigators regard in-
termittence to be a necessary char-
acteristic of tracking movements,
following from the mechanism of
the function of the visual-motor
0
v T.D.
s. mrn
system (Telford, Craik, Vince,
Nick, Poulton, and others [ 6 ] ).
Fig. 2. Schematic repre- Tracking is a series of simple,
sentation of the program successive responses to misalign-
of a spot's movement and ment signals. On the average, the
record of sight movement duration of one cycle is 0.5 sec, of
during tracking. Ab- which movement and pause each
scissa - path traversed comprise 0.25 sec. The necessary
by the target; ordinate - intermittency of tracking move -
time. v - velocity; tl - ments is most often attributed to
time oftransition process; s o -called "psychological refrac -
T.D. - time of delay; G, toriness," i.e., central nervous
L, E - partial movements, system delay due to the time taken
the rates of which were to process a signal in a single-
greater ( G ) , less (L), o r channel system (the visual-motor
equal (E) to the rate of the system is regarded as single-
target; P -pause. channel by many investigators).
According to adherents to the in-
termittency hypothesis, partial movements are ballistic, i.e.,
movements "in which agonists and antagonists show short bursts
of activity with intervening periods of no applied force. Move-
ment begins anew each time, instead of being guided by con-
tinuously varying forces. ") : (
There also exists a hypothesis that the intermittency of
174 SOVIET PSYCHOLOGY

Characteristics of the Motor Components of Tracking

r-l
0 cd
a, -w
.r(
m
\
E
2a
E
h
-w
a,
M
k
cd
44
c3
0
a,
-w
2
G L E G L E G L E
1 5.2 1.4 1.9 0.26 0.40 0.41 3.15 0.55 1 3.55 0.40
2 5.9 2.9 2.0 0.27 0.31 0.31 4.2 1.1 2 3.2 0.34
4 6.3 4.4 2.6 0.30 0.28 0.34 6.7 2.6 4 2.3 0.31
6 7.1 5.7 2.7 0.29 0.29 0.25 9.5 3.5 6 1.6 0.24
8 7.7 6.2 2.2 0.29 0.26 0.27 11.8 5.1 8 0.85 0.22
10 8.15 6.7 2.2 0.28 0.27 0.26 14.4 6.0 1 0 0.55 0.21

Note: G - movement at faster rate than the velocity of the

target; L - movement slower than the target; E - move-
ment at same rate as the target.

tracking movements is determined by the spontaneous rhythm

of the central nervous system, i.e., the periodicity of the alter-
nating heightening and abatement of excitability.
If these hypotheses were correct, we could expect that the
duration of the partial movements and the pauses between them
would remain unchanged under different conditions and during
different stages in the tracking process.
However, later investigations established that the duration of
the partial movements and pauses w a s not a constant value, as
had been previously assumed. An analysis of recordings of
muscle tension obtained during the execution of tracking move-
ments disclosed no signs of ballistic movements (Elson and
WINTER 1970-71 175

Gray). It was also demonstrated that under certain conditions

(monotonically varying signal o r training), tracking movements
a r e smooth and apparently continuous. These facts dispute the
intermittency hypothesis. Thus, Gibbs proposed that in tracking
processes, movements a r e regulated by continuous kinesthetic
feedback. (8)
In o r d e r t o analyze these contradictory facts, it is evidently
necessary to make a more detailed examination of the dynamics
of tracking, in which it would be useful to compare the charac-
teristics of tracking under different s e t s of conditions.
According to our experimental evidence, tracking movements
a r e continuous throughout only at low rates of target movement
(from 1 to 6 mm/sec). If, however, the target rate exceeds a
certain value, then two distinct stages appear in the tracking
process. In the first, which lasts approximately 1.5-2.0 sec,
movements a r e actually intermittent. Then, however, in the
second stage, the pauses disappear and movement becomes
continuous although, indeed, uneven. Fig. 2 shows a typical
curve obtained during the tracking of a target moving at a rate
of over 6 mm/sec.
Judging from i t s content, the first of these stages is evidently
orienting (it is analogous to a transition process in technical
tracking systems), whereas the second is the truly executive
stage (analogous to steady-state conditions). What is the psy-
chological significance of these two stages ?
There is reason to believe that during the orienting stage the
movement of the target is assessed visually, and a s e r i e s of
motor tests is made in response to the misalignment signals
that arise. Hence, discrete movements a r e unavoidable. During
the performance of each partial movement, elementary kin-
esthetic signals arise and a r e compared in the central units of
the regulatory system. On the basis of their comparison and
selection, the optimum rate of limb movements is determined
for the given conditions. The chief function of partial move-
ments is evidently a measuring one. The elementary kinesthetic
signals corresponding to them assume the role of unique "sen-
sory metric units" by means of which limb movements a r e
176 SOVIET PSYCHOLOGY

coordinated with the visually perceived movements of the tar-

get. The function of the orienting stage is the simultaneous
measurement of visual and kinesthetic signals, on the basis of
which the "gear ratio," i.e., the ratio of the target rate to the
rate of limb movement under the given conditions is determined.
The subject thus finds the rate of limb movement that ensures
successful execution of the task. This is evidently achieved by
computing the mean of the elementary kinesthetic signals. That
this computation actually does take place is proven by the fol-
lowing experiments: The subject tracked the movement of a
target for 0.5-5.0 sec, after which the light w a s turned off in
the experimentation room. The subject, however, was required
to continue tracking, relying exclusively on kinesthetic control.
An analysis of the data showed that in this case the rate of limb
movement w a s not equal to the rate of the last partial movement
performed under visual control, but was nearer to the mean
velocity of the preceding partial movements.
From the experimental data it would seem to follow that dur-
ing tracking a reorganization takes place in the perceptual pat -
tern that regulates movement. In the first stage, the decisive
role in the regulation of movements is played by misalignment
signals, i.e., visually reflected positional discrepancies between
the sight and the target. In the second stage, thanks to compu-
tation of the mean of the sum of misalignment signals and of the
sum of kinesthetic signals from partial movements, an "image"
of the rate of the target and the limb rate commensurate to it
is formed. The transition from the first stage to the second
stage is essentially a transition from positional tracking to
velocity tracking.
This makes possible the more efficient use of the so-called
"internal regulatory system" (the limb kinesthetic -motor sys -
tem). This is confirmed, in particular, by an analysis of the
period during which the rate of movements changes. Whereas
in the first stage this period was approximately 0.25-0.30 sec,
in the second stage it w a s reduced to 0.05-0.06 sec (according
to Kupfmuller, the time of a regulatory cycle in an internal
system is approximately 0.04 sec [ - 91).
WINTER 1970-71 177

In the second stage, the internal system begins to assume

the leading role, while the external system (eye-limb motor
apparatus) serves as the control, becoming activated as soon
as a relatively considerable discrepancy, i.e., e r r o r , arises
between the sight and the target.
Thus, during the very process of tracking, the components of
the visual-motor system are redistributed proportionally, en-
suring smooth and continuous limb movements.
It is important to note that only the limb movement as a whole
becomes continuous. At the same time, as the transition to the
second stage is made, finger movements become even more
discrete than in the first stage. The fingers perform a whole
series of minute and simple movements on the surface of the
control unit. Movement is transmitted, as it were, from finger
to finger; and the number of corrective and compensatory move-
ments increases. Changes in the rate of movement of some
fingers, whatever the reason for their appearance, a r e corrected
("cancelled") by the movements of other fingers, and thus do
not influence the end result, i.e., the movement of the control
unit. For this reason, the limb is permanently in a state of
unique "dynamic equilibrium," so that it can counteract reactive
forces and, at any moment, in response to the signal, change
the rate of the movement being executed.
The mechanism of perceptual anticipation and extrapolation
has an important function in the regulation of tracking move-
ments. The movement of the limb at each moment is determined
not only by the prior and present state of the signal but also by
its expected state. During the course of tracking, it becomes
possible to predict variations in the signal on the basis of com-
parison, selection, and computation of the mean value of the in-
coming signals. The subject evaluates the general tendency of
the target's movement and adjusts his own movements to the
expected change in the target position. We studied the human
ability to perform this function in special experiments. In one
series, the target vanished during tracking, but the subject w a s
required to continue to perform the assigned activity. He con-
tinued tracking on the basis of his perception of the sight's
178 SOVIET PSYCHOLOGY

3j--/-
% movement and of trace
images of the target's
movement and movement
20 of his limb.
10 ./ #A'
In another series of ex-
periments, the light w a s
turned off, in addition to
o a5 1 2 3 4t, 5
the target's vanishing, i.e.,
extrapolation could be
Fig, 3. Increase in the number made only on the basis of
of accurate extrapolations of traces of visual and kin-
the velocity of a target with in- esthetic signals. These ex-
crease in the duration of the periments showed that the
preceding tracking. accuracy of extrapolation
Abscissa - time, sec; ordi- is dependent primarily on
dinate - number of accurate the duration of the preced-
extrapolations, percent of ing tracking (Fig. 3).
total; 1 - first series; 2 - sec- It is worth noting that
ond series of experiments. accurate extrapolation is
possible only after 1.5-2
sec of tracking have elapsed, i.e., this is approximately the
duration of the first orienting stage. (10) This is, of course,
understandable, since it is during thisperiod that the regulatory
image is formed. The difference between the data from the first
and the second series of experiments is also striking. The higher
percentage of accurate extrapolations in the first series was
due to the fact that visual control could still be exercised on
movements. (11)
Finally, l e t u s briefly consider one more question. We ob-
served very few instances of absolutely accurate tracking. Usu-
ally the sight diverged in one direction or another from the tar-
get. However, both negative and positive e r r o r s were very
small. A s the tracking duration increased, at the transition
from the first stage to the second, the accuracy of movements
also increased to a relatively constant level. Moreover, a
"rate-reliability" index and the constancy coefficient were very
high (much higher than in technical tracking systems). We
WINTER 1970-71 179

could figuratively say that man "sacrifices accuracy for con-

stancy." (12) It is in this trait that the specific features of
mental regulation of behavioral acts are manifested, from which
is derived the great versatility of human behavior and man's
ability to reorganize the regulatory mechanism of behavior in
order to maintain a high level of reliability.

Notes

1) Data gathered in the study of elementary responses are

systematized and synthesized in the splendid book by E. I.
Boyko, Vremya reaktsii cheloveka. Moscow: Meditsina, 1964.
2) For a description of different types of tracking, see S. L.
Levieva and B. F. Lomov, Issledovaniya deyatel'nosti chelo-
veka-operatora v rezhime slezheniya. Vop. Psikhol., 1965,
No. 1.
3) V. M. Vodlozerov, Eksperimental'naya ustanovka dlya
izucheniya pertseptivno -motornykh reaktsiy v usloviyakh
odnomernogo slezheniya. In Problemy obshchey sotsial'noy i
inzhenernoy psikhologii. LGU, 1966.
4) For more detail on the operative threshold, s e e B. F.
LOmov, 0 nekotorykh kriteriyakh otsenki signalov peredayush-
chikh informatsiyu cheloveku-operatoru. In Problemy inzhen-
ernoy psikhologii., No. 2. Leningrad: Obshchestva psikhologov,
1965.
5) K. J. W. Craik, Theory of the human operator in control
systems. I. The operator as an engineering system. Brit. J.
Psychol., 1947, 38, 2, 55-61;II. Man as an element in a control
system. Brit. J.Psychol., 1947, 38, 3, 142-148;M. A. Vince,
Corrective movements in the pursuit task. Quart. J. Exp. Psy-
chol., 1948, 1, 85-103.
6) C. W. G l f o r d , The refractory phase of voluntary and as-
sociative responses, J. Exp. Psychol., 1931, 14, 1-35; K. J. W.
Craik, op. cit.; W. E. Nick, The discontinuousfunctioning of the
human operator in pursuit tasks. Quart. J. Exp. Psychol., 1948,
1, 33-41; M. A. Vince, The intermittency of control movements
-
and psychological refractory period. Brit. J. Psychol., 1948,
180 SOVIET PSYCHOLOGY

38 149-157; E. C. Poulton, Perceptual anticipation and reaction

d e . Quart. J. Exp. Psychol., 1950, 2, 99-112.
7) P. M. Fitts, Inzhenernaya psikhologiya i konstruirovanie
myshin. In S. S. Stevens (Ed.), Experimental'naya psikhologiya.
Vol. 2. Moscow: Inostran. literatura, 1963.
8) C. B. Gibbs, The continuous regulation of skilled response
by kinesthetic feedback. Brit. J. Psychol., 45, 24-39; C. B.
Gibbs, Movement and force in sensory motorskill. In W. F.
Ffloyd and A. T. Welford (Eds.), Human factors in equipment
design. London. Lewis, 1954. Pp. 103-117.
9) K. Kupfmuller , Informationverarbeitung durch den Men-
schen. Vol. 2. NTZ, 1959.
10) The very small percentage of accurate extrapolations that
occurred in the case of a short tracking period with observation
of the sight i n view was apparently due to random coincidences.
11) For more detail s e e V. M. Vodlozerov, Eksperimental'noe
issledovanie deystviy cheloveka-operatora rabotayushchego v
rezhime slezheniya. Candidate's dissertation. LGU, 1965.
12) We note that a discrepancy between accuracy and con-
stancy of human acts has been observed in other circumstances
as well. See, for example, V. L. Marsishchuka and N. V. Sys-
oeva, 0 zavisimosti tochnosti deystviy ot emotsional'nogo sos -
toyaniya; 0. P. Kozerenko, Vzaymodeystvie tochnosti i ustoy-
chivosti v zhivykh sistemakh na modeli staticheskoy adaptatsii.
In B. F. Lomov (Ed.), Problemy inzhenernoy psikhologii.
Leningrad, 1964.