Associated Movements and Motor Learning

Associated movements are operationally defined, and a study of the contralateral transfer effect of right-hand training on a task requiring dissociation and recombination of associated-movement components is reported. In the sample studied, a highly significant gain of 44 percent was obtained in subsequent left-hand performance of the task, and individual differences in initial proficiency on the task persisted through training. The principal conclusion was that the gain in proficiency represents motor learning. Theoretical and research implications of the study are discussed.