Reaction time Flashcards
Fore period
Time before stimuli are presented - used to detect warning signals
(autonomous learners selectively attend and anticipate)
Reaction time
The time taken to make a decision
(stimuli enter perceptual mechanism and response selection takes place)
Movement time
The time from the initiation of the first movement to the completion of the movement
(response programming)
Response time
The time from the onset of a stimulus to the final completion of the response
(reaction time + movement time)
Simple reaction time
The specific reaction to a specific stimulus
(100m sprint start gun)
Choice reaction time
There is a number of alternatives, the performer has to make a decision of their response when faced with several stimuli
(game sports, open environment, externally paced)
Hick’s law (1952)
The more options there is (in terms of responses), the slower the reaction time is
(centre pass)
Single channel hypothesis
Once a stimulus has been recognised and is in the process of being dealt with, any secondary stimuli must wait until the first has been dealt with before it can be dealt with
(slows down decision making process for stimulus 2)
Single channel hypothesis (example)
A striker performs dribble skills to provide the defender with more stimuli to slow their reaction time and beat them
(if stimuli are presented closely together this maximises the effect)
Psychological refractory period (PRP)
> The lull in time between finishing processing stimuli 1, before processing and making a decision on stimuli 2
S1 response is significantly slower as the first response is still being processed
Works alongside single channel hypothesis
Psychological refractory period (PRP) (example)
> Tennis player waiting at base line for a return shot
Stimuli 1: ball arriving on their forehand side and they begin appropriate response
Stimuli 2: the ball clips the net
PRP is the time taken to forget S1 and process and respond to S2
