The Effects of Concurrent Vocalization on Foot and Hand Motor Performance: A Test of the Functional Distance Hypothesis

The effects of concurrent vocalization on hand and foot motor performance were examined in two dual-task experiments as a test of the functional distance hypothesis. No interference effects were found with either hand or foot tapping under two difficulty levels of verbal activity. There was no evidence of differential or asymmetrical interference patterns despite the differential functional and anatomical distances of these motor centers from the speech centers. Consequently, the data provided no support for the functional distance hypothesis.

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