ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the use of dynamic touch in perceiving the utility of hockey sticks for power and precision actions. The sticks were modified by adding weights at different locations relative to the points of grasp. Manipulating the mass distributions of hockey sticks makes the sticks more or less well suited for power and precision actions, bottom-heavy sticks allow for greater force transfer, but are less controllable, whereas top-heavy sticks are controllable but afford less forceful hitting. Participants wielded the sticks in the absence of vision and haptically gauged the suitability of the sticks for power and precision tasks. They engaged in three separate experiment phases for each of the two experimental conditions: pre-action ratings, the action phase, and post-action ratings. Rather than absolute mass, the distribution of the sticks’ mass played a role in determining the perceived utility of the sticks for performing a power task.
