Motor complexity of digits: A descriptive study through a kinematic approach

This experiment aimed at studying the kinematics of the handwriting of Arab ic digits. Since no systematic description of the writing of Arabic digits exists in the literature, this study aimed at characterising digits accordi ng to their motor complexity, and also to examine if digits are sensitive t o the position and length effects described in the handwriting of words. A copying task of single and two-digit Arabic numbers was used to meet these objectives, and an ordering of digits according to their velocity profiles is proposed. These characteristics could be a useful tool in the domain of neuropsychology or developmental psychology.