Dictionary of Biological Psychology
The formation of characters (letters of the alphabet, numerals, symbols) on a surface or using an implement or machine; writing is of major importance in human development because it permits a significantly deeper transmission of cultural information than an oral mechanism alone. Writing provides a good example of MOTOR PROGRAMMING: initially effortful, requiring conscious ATTENTION, the production of writing rapidly becomes automatic.
What appears to be registered in the programme is the concept of writing rather than a definitive mechanism of production. Appropriate written output can be produced holding a pen in different ways—normally, at arms length, with the non-dominant hand—or even moving paper across a stationary pen. Such phenomena indicate that the motor programme for writing does not have embedded specific patterns of muscular activation: different MUSCLES can be activated in order to produce appropriate writing.
See also: agraphia; grapheme; micrographia; reading; spelling
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