Individual differences in fine motor precision in participants from different countries and their psychological meaning

Abstract

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 differences 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 different 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 differences (participants by origin or residence from Spain, Morocco, East Europe and Latin America) in graphical test performance (fine 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 differences were also observed and discussed. The related psychological meaning of these individual differences is also discussed. Results. The results of this study are discussed in the article. They included not only the description of the specific test conditions (hand use, movement, and bias types) but also the explanation of the psychological meaning of differences (personality dimensions) compared with the cultural groups or sex subgroups levels. Moreover, the differences between men and women within each cultural subgroup are also analyzed. Better comprehension of cultural differences would help in obtaining more qualified therapeutic, educational and judicial help, by reducing of the derived possible negative biases or misinterpretations in human behavior. This can result in such benefits, for example, as better adaptation of immigrants in other cultures. Conclusion. The majority of significant differences between representatives of various cultural subgroups in this study were obtained in the non-dominant hand, meaning that such differences were more at the basic level. Further adaptive behavior to the environmental changes in their lives led to disappearance of such differences, especially in those who were residing in the same country.