Multifinger tapping performance as a function of the direction of tapping movements

Abstract

What can the study of finger movements in typing, especially with respect to directional aspects, tell us about the way in which office and data-processing machine keying operations can be improved? "Five male Ss were given 3-minute trials at each of five keyboard positions for 20 consecutive days. The keyboard, consisting of the eight keys of the starting position of a typewriter, was hinged in the middle, so that the direction of tapping movements, could be varied from horizontal to vertical. The task was a simple alternation of both fingers and hands." Relatively poor performance with the standard horizontal keyboard and other findings suggest the possibility of much improved keyboards. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)