# Influence of Mouse Grip Type on Flicking and Tracking Tasks Performance
## 4 Discussion
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l c c c} \hline \hline
**Parameter** & **Reaction Time** & **Total Distance** & **Minimum Cursor Trajectory** \\ \hline Score (n) & \(-0.911\) * & 0.724 * & \\ \cline{1-1} \cline{2-5}  & Aim time (s) & & 0.643 * \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 3: Pearson correlations between variables in the flicking task. Distance in this task represents the smallest distance between two consecutive targets in a straight line, measured in pixels, while the Minimum Cursor Trajectory indicates the pixels that the cursor has travelled between these targets [20]. These two variables are related, and our results suggested that for the same Minimum Distance, gamers who used a fingertip or palm grip traced a more optimal trajectory than those who used a claw grip. This outcome is in line with the findings of [PERSON] and [PERSON] [20], who asserted that the distance between targets can influence the cursor's trajectory, and that the type of mouse grip is one of the most influential factors on minimum distances. Furthermore, the difference in the Minimum Cursor Trajectory can arise due to the number of submovements performed with each grip, with researchers previously observing fewer submovements in minimum distances with the fingertip and palm grips than with the claw grip [21]. Nevertheless, further studies related to these aspects should be carried out to consolidate these results. A high correlation between the Aim Time and Minimum Cursor Trajectory was also found in this study (r = 0.643). The Aim Time refers to the time between shots and the Minimum Cursor Trajectory indicates the path followed by the mouse with the shortest distance between two targets. Our results seem to be in line with those of [PERSON] et al. [21], who explained that the Aim Time is affected by the verification time and the number of submovements, so the higher the values of these two variables, the longer the aim time. Plus, the more submovements there are, the higher the Minimum Cursor Trajectory. Finally, concerning kinematics in the tracking task, [PERSON] and [PERSON] [22] analyzed the capacity for manual tracking in a two-dimensional plane in different experiments, in which they combined different variables such as changes in the directional trajectory, speed, and acceleration. They concluded that changes in direction generated much more similar reaction times than changes in other variables, and they also observed that reaction times to changes in target acceleration were much longer than for changes in speed or direction. The tracking task proposed in our research consisted of a target moving at a constant speed, and there were no changes in either speed or acceleration, only directional changes, which may explain the absence of significant differences in the kinematic variables. As such, it seems appropriate to investigate this aspect more deeply and verify whether or not there are differences between distinct mouse grips when the speed and acceleration of the target vary during the task. The main limitation of this study was that all participants used the same mouse configuration (e.g., speed or pointer sensitivity). The researchers were aware that each person is familiar with their own mouse and its particular configuration, and the use of another mouse can impact performance. However, we considered that this limitation was necessary for the study, since allowing everyone to play with a different mouse and sensitivity would have increased the number of confounding factors in our assessment of the influence of the mouse grip on the results. The small number of players with the palm grip is also a limitation to be considered. Although we put all our effort into recruiting players with this type of grip, we were not able to secure many. Finally, no female players volunteered to take part in this study, leaving room for future research to work in this direction.