ArticleExperimental brain research2017
The power law of movement: an example of a behavioral illusion.
Article in Experimental brain research, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Article
- Biological kinematics: a detailed review of the velocity-curvature power law calculation.Experimental brain research · 2025Review
- Do bumblebees have signatures? Demonstrating the existence of a speed-curvature power law in Bombus terrestris locomotion patterns.PloS one · 2020Article
- Bioinspired Implementation and Assessment of a Remote-Controlled Robot.Applied bionics and biomechanics · 2019Article
- Article
- The power law as behavioral illusion: reappraising the reappraisals.Experimental brain research · 2018Review
- Comments on Marken and Shaffer: The power law of movement: an example of a behavioral illusion.Experimental brain research · 2018Article
- The speed-curvature power law of movements: a reappraisal.Experimental brain research · 2018Article
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The curved movements produced by living organisms follow a power law where the velocity of movement is a power function of the degree of curvature through which the movement is made. The exponent of the power function is close to either 1/3 or 2/3 depending on how velocity and curvature are measured. This power law is thought to reflect biological and/or kinematic constraints on how organisms produce movements. The present paper shows that the power law is actually a statistical artifact that results from mistaking a correlational for a causal relationship between variables. The power law implies that curvature influences the velocity of movement. In fact, the power law is a mathematical consequence of the way that these variables are calculated. The appearance that curvature affects the velocity of movement is shown to be an example of a "behavioral illusion" that results from ignoring the purpose of behavior.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.