Hicks law Flashcards
what is Hicks law
the relationship between the number of choices and response time
as the number of choices increases, so does reaction time
what does the hicks law graph look like
y axis = time taken to respond
x axis = number of options
curve up and right
what is the single chanel hypothesis and the problem with it
only one stimuli can be processed at a time as they are processed along a single nerve
if the second stimulus arrives befpre the first is completed, the second stimulus must wait
delay in processing the second stimulus means a slower responce time
what is the psychological refractory period (PRP)
the delay - from the single channel hypothesis, is caused by confusion of the second stimuli arriving before the first has been processed
we can only process one stimuli at a time - ‘bottleneck theory’
what may happen during the pysychological refractory process
the performaer may ‘freeze’ completely for a split second, depending on how long it takes to sort out the conflicting information
how can a games player use the psychological refractory period to their advantage
you can decieve your opponent to force a delay in their responce - dummy pass in netball
what is anticipation
when a performer tries to pre-judge a stimulus
done by using information from the environment in the form of signals/cues from the opponent, this could include body language/positioning
information can also be learned prior to the game by researching the opposition
what is temporal anticipation and example
predicting when movement will happen - keeper predicting when a player is going to shoot
what is spacial anticipation
predicting what / where a movement will happen - keeper predicting where the ball will go
how might games players try to shorten their response time
using correct anticipation, but if anticipation is wrong and the stimulus presented is not the one expected, there will be a delay (PRP) while the actual second stimulus is processed
factors affecting reaction time
stimulus intensity - how lous is the gun
previous experience / stage pf learning
anticipation
choice - how many stimuli
age - reaction time slows with age
gender - males are generally faster
temperature - colder = slower
drugs / alcohol - drugs speed up / alcohol slows
fatigue levels
arousal levels - optimal arousal is quick, over or under is slow
factors improving response time
mental practice
grooving skills
experience
selective attention
imrpoved fitness
warm up
optimum arousal levels
anticipation
