Chapter 8 Flashcards
action preparation
the activity that occurs between the intention to perform an action and the initiation;
aka motor programming
Hick’s law
law of human performance stating that RT will increase logarithmically as the # of stimulus-response choices increases
cost-benefit trade-off
the cost (slower RT), and benefit (faster RT) that occur as a result of biasing the preparation of an action in favor of one of several possible actions
stimulus-response (S-R) compatibility
spatial arrangement of stimuli and the limb movements required to respond to them, and the physical characteristics or meaning of a stimulus and the type of response required.
The degree of compatibility influences the amount of preparation time in a reaction time task involving stimulus and response choices.
Stroop effect
a type of stimulus-response compatibility situation in which a color’s name and ink are these same or different.
RT for saying the word is faster when both are the same color than when the word is a different ink color
foreperiod
in a reaction time paradigm, the time interval between a warning signal and the go signal, or stimulus
psychological refractory period (PRP)
a delay period during which a person seems to put planned action ‘on hold’ while executing a previously initiated action
delay of response to 2nd signal
vigilance
maintaining attention in a performance situation in which stimuli requiring a response occur infrequently
precue
an advance indication that an upcoming event will require a response
Predictability and RT
RT decreases as the predictability of the correct response choice increases
RT and foreperiod
RT decreases when interval between warning and go signal is more regular
limb performance characteristics
movement direction, movement trajectory, end-point accuracy
object control characteristics
force control, end-state comfort control
