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The impact of precaution and practice on the performance of a risky motor task.
- Source :
-
Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) [Behav Sci (Basel)] 2013 Jun 26; Vol. 3 (3), pp. 316-329. Date of Electronic Publication: 2013 Jun 26 (Print Publication: 2013). - Publication Year :
- 2013
-
Abstract
- The association between threat perception and motor execution, mediated by evolved precaution systems, often results in ritual-like behavior, including many idiosyncratic acts that seem irrelevant to the task at hand. This study tested the hypothesis that threat-detection during performance of a risky motor task would result in idiosyncratic activity that is not necessary for task completion. We asked biology students to follow a particular set of instructions in mixing three solutions labeled "bio-hazardous" and then repeat this operation with "non-hazardous" substances (or vice versa). We observed a longer duration of the overall performance, a greater repertoire of acts, longer maximal act duration, and longer mean duration of acts in the "risky" task when it was performed before the "non-risky" task. Some, but not all, of these differences were eliminated when a "non-risky" task preceded the "risky" one. The increased performance of idiosyncratic unnecessary activity is in accordance with the working hypothesis of the present study: ritualized idiosyncratic activities are performed in response to a real or illusionary threat, as a means to alleviate anxiety.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 2076-328X
- Volume :
- 3
- Issue :
- 3
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland)
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 25379241
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.3390/bs3030316