Bg. Bardy et M. Laurent, HOW IS BODY ORIENTATION CONTROLLED DURING SOMERSAULTING, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance, 24(3), 1998, pp. 963-977
How body orientation is controlled during somersaulting was investigat
ed in 2 experiments that analyzed the kinematics of 223 backward stand
ing somersaults. In Experiment 1, open-loop, initial-condition (flight
duration), and prospective (time to contact, or TC1) control strategi
es were tested as candidates for the regulation of body moment of iner
tia during the jump. Decreasing between-trials variability of body ori
entation over time as well as a negative correlation between body angu
lar velocity and TC1 suggested that the moment of inertia was regulate
d prospectively. In Experiment 2, the visual basis for this regulation
was examined by asking experts and novices to execute somersaults eit
her with eyes closed or open. Results showed that the prospective regu
lation observed in the vision condition disappeared in the no-vision c
ondition with the experts, arguing in favor of a visual control during
the jump. Such a coupling was absent with the novices, thus illustrat
ing the role played by the perception-action cycle in the learning pro
cess.