Establishing and Applying Measurement Reliability in Perceptual-Motor Coordination Tasks

Abstract

Over a large body of literature focused on perceptual-motor coordination for action-based affordance tasks, little regard has been given for measurement reliability. The purpose of this paper was to outline this issue and provide an example reliability study for a measure of an individual’s ability to perceive action opportunities for leaping. Ten participants completed three testing sessions, each consisting of 24 trials of the task. Reaction times and accuracy of perceptual responses were calculated. Analysis of variance was used to test for systematic mean changes. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and coefficients of variation (CV) were used to quantify intersession agreement and within-subject variability. With the removal of six trials for familiarization, acceptable agreement (ICC= 0.930) and within-subject variability (CV= 9.5%) were established, using six further testing trials. Overall, this paper provides the rationale and simple methods for addressing measurement reliability in perceptual-motor coordination research.

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Funding

This work was supported by the University of Pittsburgh, School of Health and Rehabilitation Science Research Development Fund.