Lec 2 - Information Processing And RT Pt.1 Flashcards
What are the three stages of information processing?
Stimulus Identification: Recognizing and interpreting sensory information.
Response Selection: Deciding on the appropriate action.
Response Programming: Preparing and executing the chosen response.
What is reaction time (RT), and why is it important?
Reaction time is the duration between stimulus presentation and response initiation. It measures the speed and efficiency of information processing.
What are the differences between Simple RT, Choice RT, and Go/No-Go RT?
Simple RT: One stimulus, one response (e.g., press a button when a light appears).
Choice RT: Multiple stimuli and responses (e.g., press different buttons for different colors).
Go/No-Go RT: Respond to one stimulus but inhibit response to another.
What is Hick’s Law, and what does it state?
Hick’s Law states that reaction time increases logarithmically as the number of stimulus-response pairs increases.
How does stimulus-response (SR) compatibility influence reaction time?
High SR compatibility (natural or learned associations) leads to faster reaction times, while low SR compatibility slows response.
What is the ‘degrees of freedom problem’?
The challenge of coordinating the many muscles and joints to perform a movement, given the infinite possible ways to execute even simple actions.
What does Donders’ subtraction logic measure?
It isolates the time required for specific cognitive processes (e.g., stimulus identification or response selection) by comparing reaction times across tasks of varying complexity.
What is the cocktail party effect, and how does it relate to attention?
The ability to focus on one conversation in a noisy environment while still noticing personally relevant stimuli, like hearing your name.
How does practice reduce reaction time?
Practice makes response selection and programming more efficient, allowing tasks to be performed more quickly and with less cognitive effort.
How does the pen-and-paper ‘S to E’ example illustrate information processing?
It demonstrates how perception, decision-making, and motor planning work together to complete a simple task.
