Centre for Policy on Ageing



Visual cues and the handwriting of older adults — a kinematic analysis
Author(s)	Melissa J Slavin, James G Phillips, John L Bradshaw
Journal title	Psychology and Aging, vol 11, no 3, September 1996
Pages	pp 521-526
Keywords	Cognitive processes ; Age groups [elderly] ; Young adults [20-25].
Annotation	Kinematic techniques determine the nature of any age-related changes in the fluency of handwriting movements, and also the extent to which any changes can be related to a differential utilisation of visual feedback. To quantitatively document the kinematics of handwriting movements, 24 young and 24 older adults were compared by having them write sample cursive letter(s) 4 times on a graphics tablet, under four different visual conditions (no vision, no inking pen, inking pen, and lined paper). Older adults made greater use of external cues during handwriting movements; but their greater use of visual feedback was associated with inefficiencies of movement. Handwriting movements of older adults resembled only to a limited extent those of patients with Parkinson's disease.
Accession Number	CPA-971120216 A
Classmark	DA: BB: SD6
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.