title: Behavioral ecology meets motor behavior: choosing between walking and reaching paths.
abstract: Behavioral ecology is a field in which scientists try to predict behavioral choices, typically by estimating costs of behavioral alternatives even though those costs may involve different currencies. Researchers interested in motor behavior often have similar concerns, though the connections between these two fields have been largely unnoticed. The authors pursued a study of motor behaviors involving different currencies: walking over different distances and reaching over different distances. They found that the cost of reaching was much greater than the cost of walking. They also found that walking paths took into account hand preferences. The present study extends previous research on the neglected topic of the coordination of reaching and walking and provides a simple method that can be applied in other contexts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA. dar12@psu.edu
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Rosenbaum
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brach
authors.forename: Andrei
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Semenov
mesh_terms: D002755:Choice Behavior; D003657:Decision Making; D055669:Ecological and Environmental Phenomena; D006801:Humans; D009043:Motor Activity; D005082:Physical Exertion; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D016138:Walking