Perceived risk as a constraint on occupational performance during hot and cold water pouring

Objective. Occupational therapists are interested in quality of movement un der different environmental conditions. It has been shown that during reach ing tasks, the physical aspects of the objects to be grasped ran influence the quality of movement. This study investigated whether perceived risk (wa ter temperature) affected the quality of movement during a pouring task. Method. In a counterbalanced, repeated measures design, 56 participants (M= 27.1 years, SD=7.4 years) poured hot, then cold water to prepare hot and co ld beverages. Dependent variables included movement time, displacement, pea k velocity, percentage of movement time to peak velocity, and movement unit s. Data were analyzed with paired t tests. Results. Participant performance in displacement and movement time was sign ificantly different when considering the entire pouring task for both the h ot and the cold conditions (ps < .05). In addition, significant differences were found in the discrete movement "sub-portions" of the pouring task (ps < .05). Conclusion. Perceived risk is an element of meaning that the occupational t herapist can consider in providing the person with just enough challenge to facilitate successful performance. By varying the amount of perceived risk in the occupational form, the therapist ran help the person experience and develop the range of movement strategies required by everyday occupations. Future research is needed to corroborate these findings in simple and more complex occupations as well as to examine perceived risk in special popula tions.