After a variable random delay a stimulus in the form of a red square will appear in place of the warning. You should respond by pressing the space bar.
Type B Task - In a type B task there are 2 stimuli and 2 responses. As before you will see the warning that the trial is about to begin however, this time after a delay either the red square or a blue circle will appear. If the red square appears you should respond by pressing the space bar as before, if the blue circle appears you should respond by clicking the mouse. You should try not to make any mistakes.
Type C Task - In a type C task there are 2 stimuli but only 1 response. As before the warning will appear followed by either the red square or the blue circle. If the red square appears you should respond by pressing the space bar. If the blue circle appears you should NOT respond. You should try not to make any mistakes.
Results
A graph to show response time in accordance with different levels of stimuli
Figure 1
The standard deviation for test 1 is very small suggesting reaction time was very consistent. As I expected, the standard deviation was a lot more varied in test 2 as the stimulus was increased. The standard deviation then decreases in test 3 which I believe is due to the dummy stimulus acting the same as the exclamation mark, with only one stimulus that should be physically reacted to.
Discussion
Tortora, G.J. (1995) explains that the nervous system senses changes within the body (internal) but also senses changes on the outside of the body (external). This is its sensory function. Secondly, the sensory information is analyzed. Some aspects of this are stored and appropriate decisions are made; this is its integrative function. Thirdly the nervous system may respond to stimuli by initiating muscular contractions or glandular secretions; this is motor function.
Abernethy et al (2005) explains that Neurons are essential for sending and receiving information throughout the entire nervous system. Synapses are responsible for the passage of information from one neuron to another. The transmission of information from one neuron to another requires the transduction of an electrical signal to a chemical one.
An explanation of why reaction time during the same task may not be consistent maybe a result of reflexes. Astill, S and Utley, A (2008) explain reflexes. When the participant was expecting the stimuli to be presented, the delay for this may have caused the brain to send signals to the limb to press the button. This may have recorded reaction time to be faster than it would have naturally been.
Hick’s law
Beashel, P and Taylor, J (1996) describe Hick’s law, which suggests that there is a linear relationship between reaction time and the amount of information to be processed. An example where Hick’s law can be applied is in various sporting activities. Intercepting the ball in netball for example; A player is faced with team members on the opposition preparing to defend the ball. The more players attacking the player, the more stimuli the player has to react to, thus slowing reaction time down.
Lee.,D,T and Schmidt,A,R (2005) explains Donder’s subtractive method, which explains that the choice reaction RT task (Type C task) requires only discrimination of the stimulus, and no selection, thus the difference in RT between a C task reaction and a B task reaction reflects the time to perform response selection. In a similar way, the C task reaction involves stimulus discrimination whereas the A task reaction does not. Due to this, the difference in RT between the A task reaction and the C task reaction should reflect the time for stimulus discrimination. The findings show that the participant found it more difficult to discriminate between stimuli in task B than they did in task C. An explanation for why discrimination proved easier in Task C can relate to ‘Stimulus detection’ explained by Lee.,D,T and Schmidt,A,R (2005). An example of why the results are as they are could be a result of stimulus intensity. The red square as opposed to the blue circle may have caused an increased reaction time, as opposed to the blue circle. This would mean that with the reaction time being slower when faced with the blue circle, the ‘no response’ signal would allow more decision time for the participant.
Limitations
Factors that may have affected the results include the noise and business of the environment. In a lab setting, concentration may be increased due to there being fewer stimuli to consider. There were a few results that were not consistent within the tests, this was probably due to sudden noises and disruptions in the background.
Implications
When relating information processing to teaching, particularly in a physical education setting, it is important to understand the processes that occur. This can help in the development of tasks and exercises where the number of stimuli can be increased over time for pupils to gradually adapt to surroundings.
Conclusion
In conclusion to the findings, it is clear to see that the human brain reacts faster to stimuli that contain little information than to a number of stimuli, as there is less information to process and respond to.
References
Abernethy, B., Hanrahan, J S., Kippers, V., Mackinnon, T L and Pandy G M (2005) The Biophysical foundations of human movement. Second edition. Human Kinetics. Stanningley, Leeds.
Astill, S and Utley, A (2008) Motor control, learning and development. Taylor and Francis Group. Abingdon, Oxon.
Beashel, P and Taylor, J (Ed) (1996) Advanced studies in Physical education and sport. nelson. Cheltenham, uk.
Lee D, T and Schmidt A, R (2005)Motor control and learning, a behavioural emphasis. Fourth edition. human kinetics. Stanningley, leeds.
Magill A, R (2007) Motor learning and control, concepts and applications. Eighth edition. Mcgraw- Hill international edition.
Tortora, G.J. (1995). Principles of Human Anatomy. Seventh edition. HarperCollinsCollegePublishers. United States of America
Figure 1 - A graph to show response time in accordance with different levels of stimuli
