Equivalence of Human Odometry by Walk and Run Is Indifferent to Self-Selected Speed

ABSTRACT

Humans and other animals can measure distances nonvisually by legged locomotion. Experiments typically employ an outbound measure (M) and an inbound report (R) phase. Previous research has found distance reproduction to be maximally accurate, when gait symmetry and speed of M and R are of like kind: Successful human odometry manifests at the level of the M-R system. In the present work, M was an experimenter-set distance produced by a blindfolded participant using a primary gait (walk, run). R was always by walk. Fast and slow versions of walk and run were adopted by participants, such that when M was fast R was slow, and vice versa. Distance was underestimated when M was slower than R and overestimated when M was faster than R. However, the pattern of participant-adopted velocities indicated that it was the instructions, not the speed as such, that yielded the pattern of results. The results are interpretable through a dynamical perspective and indicate speed is an imperfection parameter acting on the attractors of the M-R system.

Keywords:

• human odometry
• idiothetic distance
• imperfection parameter
• legged locomotion
• symmetry group

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research was supported by National Science Foundation grants (SBR00-04097 and BCS-0925373).

Robert W. Isenhower is now at Rutgers University.

Notes

1. Mittelstaedt and Mittelstaedt (2001) conjectured that the contrary finding by Schwartz (1999)—M by slower walking and M by faster running resulting in identical R via slower walking—stemmed from “different motor events in running compared to fast walking” (p. 327). They suggested pitting slow running against fast running, as a possible test of this conjecture.