TY - JOUR
T1 - The comparison of motor performance between part and whole tasks in elderly persons
AU - Ma, Hui Ing
AU - Trombly, Catherine A.
PY - 2001
Y1 - 2001
N2 - Objective. When teaching clients a multistep functional task, therapists tend to break down the task into part tasks with discrete movements. The purpose of this study was to compare the kinematic performance between part and whole tasks in elderly persons. Method. A counterbalanced repeated-measures design was used. Twenty elderly persons without motor problems (7 men, 13 women) performed a signature task in two conditions. For the part-task condition, the participants did the task in a step-by-step manner: (a) reach for a pen, (b) bring the pen to the paper, and (c) sign the name. For the wholetask condition, the participants performed the task in an integrated continuous flow. Kinematic performances for two movement segments (i.e., reaching for the pen, bringing the pen to the paper) were compared between conditions. Results. Generally, the whole-task condition elicited a more efficient, more forceful, and smoother movement than the part-task condition. Conclusion. The results suggest the importance of keeping a multistep functional task whole.
AB - Objective. When teaching clients a multistep functional task, therapists tend to break down the task into part tasks with discrete movements. The purpose of this study was to compare the kinematic performance between part and whole tasks in elderly persons. Method. A counterbalanced repeated-measures design was used. Twenty elderly persons without motor problems (7 men, 13 women) performed a signature task in two conditions. For the part-task condition, the participants did the task in a step-by-step manner: (a) reach for a pen, (b) bring the pen to the paper, and (c) sign the name. For the wholetask condition, the participants performed the task in an integrated continuous flow. Kinematic performances for two movement segments (i.e., reaching for the pen, bringing the pen to the paper) were compared between conditions. Results. Generally, the whole-task condition elicited a more efficient, more forceful, and smoother movement than the part-task condition. Conclusion. The results suggest the importance of keeping a multistep functional task whole.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0035227239&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0035227239&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.5014/ajot.55.1.62
DO - 10.5014/ajot.55.1.62
M3 - Article
C2 - 11216368
AN - SCOPUS:0035227239
SN - 0272-9490
VL - 55
SP - 62
EP - 67
JO - American Journal of Occupational Therapy
JF - American Journal of Occupational Therapy
IS - 1
ER -