Evidence against the Relative Invariance of Timing in Handwriting

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Abstract
Gentner (1987) has called into question the role of timing information in a number of motor behaviours. The status of an invariant relative timing model for handwriting, however, is still unclear, due to lack of previous studies that have applied appropriate tests to a suitable database. This study employs a direct application of the tests proposed by Gentner (1987) to handwriting samples collected from adult subjects, to ascertain whether an invariant temporal pattern was retained across changes in size and speed of writing. In line with Gentner's (1987) study of typing, the findings are strongly against the invariant relative timing model and bring into question motor program models that posit timing as an independent parameter.