Anticipation and Timing in Human Motor Performance

Recent evidence concerning the role of anticipation and timing in human motor performance is reviewed. Evidence generally indicates that anticipation and timing can be learned, and that there is substantial forgetting over retention intervals of up to 5 months. The spatial and temporal predictability of the stimuli appear to be the most potent determiners of anticipation, but response-produced proprioceptive stimulus traces may also provide a basis for more accurate timing. Changes in the nature of the stimulus predictability produce widely different response strategies, and after considerable practice, anticipated responses become automatic, freeing S to perform other tasks simultaneously. There has been a general lack of interest concerning both "intraresponse" timing and the motor variables determining anticipation.