Do we see what makes our script characteristic — or do we only feel it? Modes of sensory control in handwriting

Summary

How does a person produce handwritten letters which are both legible and also show an individuality of script? Three production control models are proposed: 1) Visual control, 2) Kinesthetic control, and 3) Parallel Kinesthetic and Visual control. In Experiment 1 24 subjects wrote text samples by hand under normal lighting, reduced lighting, or in complete darkness. The subjects addressed the samples to themselves, to close friends, or to other students. The handwriting did not degenerate under the reduction of visibility if the subjects addressed the samples to themselves, but it did undergo marked changes if directed at someone unknown. This result rules out the visual control model. In Experiment 2 the same subjects were asked to answer questions about the characteristics of their own handwritten letters while holding an image of the letter in mind. There were four types of imagery instructions: subjects were told to form either 1) a static visual image, 2) a dynamic image, 3) a kinesthetic image, 4) a combined kinesthetic and dynamic visual image. Subjects were able to answer questions about their handwritten letters more correctly with the fourth type of imagery instructions, suggesting Parallel Kinesthetic and Visual control of handwriting, the third of the proposed control models. A closer examination of the results of Experiment 2 reveals that the control processes are interactive; the idiosyncratic letter forms which make up the individuality in handwriting are controlled exclusively by kinesthetic information.