Individual Diferences in Fine Motor Precision in Participants from Diferent Countries and their Psychological Meaning

• Main Author: Liudmila Liutsko
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University 2019-09-01
• Series: Psychology in Russia: State of Art
• Subjects: fne motor precision; proprioceptive diagnostics; individual diferences; personality; cultural diferences; sex diferences; perception
• Online Access: http://psychologyinrussia.com/volumes/pdf/2019_3/Psychology_3_2019_41-53_Liutsko.pdf

Background. Despite the global tendency toward multidisciplinary research, there is still an abyss between some areas of human science. For example, in the motor control area, psychology should contribute to a better comprehension of human movement, and vice versa, the motor control in the psychological branch should also be considered more. Comparative studies on individual and personality diferences in the representatives of various cultures are less biased if studied with the use of motor control or graphical methods because these methods do not require any linguistic or cultural adaptation. Objective & Methods. In this study, which aims to observe the individual characteristics of the participants (170 in total) from diferent cultures (by countries of birth and residence), we used the graphomotor method, the Proprioceptive Diagnostics of Temperament and Character (Tous et al, 2012) that evolved within the traditional Miokinetical Psychodiagnosis of Mira y Lopez (1958). Design. Individual cultural diferences (participants by origin or residence from Spain, Morocco, East Europe and Latin America) in graphical test performance (fne motor precision) were measured in the proprioceptive sensory condition (without visual guidance) for both hands (dominant and non-dominant) in three movement types (Frontal, Transversal and Sagittal). Sex diferences were also observed and discussed. Te related psychological meaning of these individual diferences is also discussed. Results. Te results of this study are discussed in the article. Tey included not only the description of the specifc test conditions (hand use, movement, and bias types) but also the explanation of the psychological meaning of diferences (personality dimensions) compared with the cultural groups or sex subgroups levels. Moreover, the diferences between men and women within each cultural subgroup are also analyzed. Better comprehension of cultural diferences would help in obtaining more qualifed therapeutic, educational and judicial help, by reducing of the derived possible negative biases or misinterpretations in human behavior. Tis can result in such benefts, for example, as better adaptation of immigrants in other cultures. Conclusion. Te majority of signifcant diferences between representatives of various cultural subgroups in this study were obtained in the non-dominant hand, meaning that such diferences were more at the basic level. Further adaptive behavior to the environmental changes in their lives led to disappearance of such diferences, especially in those who were residing in the same country