The organization of action: Contemporary relevance of Turvey’s approach to motor behavior

Abstract

In this article, I will list the major contributions that Michael Turvey has made to the field of motor control from the perspective of my own research in the area. There are multiple research programs that I have carried out over the last twenty-five years that have all been influenced by the ecological and dynamical systems accounts that were pioneered by Michael Turvey. In this article I will highlight significant developments in 1) contribution of movement to timing and time perception 2) the contribution of the motor system in beat perception in music 3) postural sway dynamics 4) the role of detuning in bimanual coordination and finally 5) the control of unstable objects. In all these lines of work, I will specifically provide instances of how Michael Turvey’s ideas inspired subsequent research in my lab and elsewhere.