KNH184-Exam 2

Modules 3, 4 and 5: information processing, anticipation, attention, control systems, types and sources of feedback, visual movement, reflexive closed-loop control, motor programs and central generators

What type of metaphor is information processing associated with?

with a computer metaphor

How do computer process information?

receive input, process information, and then produce output

What is the human processing model?

input, human and then output

Why is the human component of the human processing model referred to as a black box?

because input goes in, then something happens that we can’t see (the black box) and then output comes out

Since information processing cannot be observed directly, how is it studied?

reaction time

What does reaction time tell us about information processing?

it can help us study the duration and nature of information processing

What is reaction time (define)?

time between the presentation of a the stimulus and the beginning of movement (duration of information processing)

What is movement time?

the time between the time it takes from start to the end of the task

What is reaction time?

reaction time plus movement time

What is the foreperiod?

time between the warning was given to the time the stimulus is presented

What does reaction time consist of?

premotor RT and motor RT

What is premotor RT?

period of time with no muscle contraction and no muscle movement

What is motor reaction time?

period of time with muscle contraction but no movement

Why reaction time important?

because it is an important component of skilled motor performance, as it tell does us the duration of information processing

What the the three stages of information processing?

stimulus identification, response selection, movement programming

What happens during the stimulus identification stage?

we identify a stimulus

How do we know the stimulus identification stage exists?

because there is a difference in reaction time to different stimulus and out reaction time (ex. we react slower to light than we do to sound)

What is the theory on why we react faster to sound than light?

it’s more important to know which direction a sound comes from and we determine this by the difference in sound between our ears

What is simple stimulus detection?

as stimulus that is simple and straightforward, that does not require experience to know how to react (ex. red light)

What is a pattern recognition stimulus?

a stimulus where you must read the situation and be able to recognize a certain pattern (ex. football play)

Is stimulus identification inherited or learned?

stimulus identification is both inherited and learned

What is the looming effect?

when something is approaching rapidly into the visual field and the body avoids it by blinking or taking a step back

New research on babies and the looming effect found what?

that babies were able identify how dangerous different stimuli are

What is the response selection stage?

decision making

How do we know that the response selection stage exists?

because of studies that manipulated the number of possible response alternatives and measuring reaction time found that increasing the number of stimulus response alternatives increases the reaction time (get slower)

What is Hick’s law?

describes a linear relationship between Log2 and the number of stimulus response alternatives (N) and reaction time, increasing the number of stimulus-response alternatives increase the reaction time

What is a scientific law?

statement of the relationship between two variables

Why is Hick’s law important?

it allows us to predict

What is movement progamming?

devoted planning of a movement response

How do we know motor programming exists?

Henry and Rodger experiment which found that increases in movement complexity causes increases in reaction time, this supports the idea that we organize/plan movements

What is anticipation?

expecting or predicting something will happen

What are the two types of anticipation?

spatial and temporal anticipation

What is spatial anticipation?

knowing what the stimulus will be

What is temporal anticipation?

knowing when the stimulus will be presented

How does accurate spatial anticipation speed reaction time?

knowing what the stimulus is allows you to skip the response selection stage and go from stimulus identification to response programming

How does accurate temporal anticipation speed reaction time?

allows the performer to begin movement programming in advance of the stimulus (skip the stimulus identification stage and response selection)

How are sprinters in track discouraged from using temporal anticipation?

disqualified for a false start, starter varies length of fore period, and electronic monitoring of RT

What is the reaction time the consists disqualification in track?

less than 100ms because it is assumed no human could react that quickly

Why was Devon Allen disqualified from his track event?

because his reaction time was just barely under 100ms

What is a benefit of anticipating correctly?

you usually gain the benefit of being faster

What is an example of when anticipating always outweighs the benefits of waiting to react?

soccer goalkeeper is better off guessing which side a ball will go rather than waiting to decide how to react

What is the cost of anticipating incorrectly?

it usually take more time to complete a task if you anticipate incorrectly

What is example when of when the cost of anticipating correctly always outweighs the benefits of anticipating correctly?

driving and you approach a red light at an intersection (anticipating that it will turn green by the time you get there and it doesn’t)

What is attention?

the capacity to process information

Why is attention considered a limit resoruce?

because you cannot attend to everything

What is interference (distraction)?

when the demand for attention exceeds your capacity to allocate attention and performance suffers

What percent of distractions are avoidable?

92%

How does attention influence stimulus identification?

parallel processing and serial processing

What is parallel processing?

doing more than one thing at a time because the demand is low

What is serial processing?

only processing one thing at a time because demand for attention is high

What is the Stroop effect and what does it show?

Stroop effect was a test that showed a color word in different color fonts, and you were to supposed to say the color of the word. This showed parallel processing because the word and color are processed a the same time and then they conflict

Does attention affect response selection and how is it determined?

controlled processing and automatic processing, depends on the amount of practice

What is controlled processing?

slow, serial, attention demanding

What is automatic processing?

fast, parallel, not attention demanding

How does attention affect movement progamming?

serial processing

How is serial processing during the movement planning stage studied?

studied using the double-stimulation paradigm

What are the parts of a the double stimulation paradigm?

S1 (stimulus 1), RT1 (reaction time for stimulus 1), S2 (stimulus 2), RT2 (reaction time), SOA (stimulus onset asynchrony or the interstimulus interval)

In the double stimulation paradigm, what is SOA?

stimulus onset asynchrony or the interstimulus interval, time between S1 and S2

What does the double stimulation paradigm show?

the reaction time to just S2 is shorter than it compared to being presented with S1 and then S2

What is the psychological refractory period?

the delay in a person’s reaction time to the second of two closely spaced stimuli, compared with reaction time to the second stimulus when presented alone

What causes the psychological refractory period?

a bottleneck occurs in the movement programming stage of information processing (S1 response-programming is first and then S2)

What time period will produce the psychological refractory period?

SOA’s between 50 and 300 ms will produce the psychological refractory period

Where do the greatest delays in reaction time occur (SOA time period)?

at the shortest range of SOAs so those closer to 50ms

If the SOA is less than 50ms what will happen?

patient will group the two stimuli together

What will happen if the SOA stimulus interval is longer?

the brain will be able to process the two stimuli separately

What is a fake in sport?

when a player misleads the defensive player into thinking they are doing a certain shot, but then they do not

How is a fake in sport related to the double stimulation paradigm?

the offensive player sees the fake (S1) and they start programming a movement for that but then by the time the see the real shot (S2) they don’t have time to correct themselves

What is the point of the psychological refractory period?

it may have a protective feature because it ensure that a response to a dangerous stimulus is produced without interfere from other conflicting signals

What is a summary of attention during information processing?

countless stimuli enter during stimulus identification and are parallel processed, then response is selected and but response programming or action is serial

How does the demand for attention throughout information processing change?

demand for attention increases in a linear fashion as you go through the steps of information processing

What is an internal focus of attention?

focus attention monitoring the ongoing movement or what’s going in your body

What is an external focus of attention?

focus of attention on target, such as an object being struck or the intended effect that the action will have on the environment

Which type of focus (internal or external) will result in more skilled performance?

external focus results in more skilled performance than internal focus attention (most of the time)

What is the constrained action hypothesis?

internal focus might cause one to control movement, which could interfere with automatic/unconscious control

What is arousal?

the level of excitement produced under stress

What is the inverted-U principle?

represents a view of the relationship between arousal and performance, increasing arousal level generally enhances performance but only to a certain point

What is the A variation of the inverted-U principle?

optimal level of arousal is near the shorter end, which would best be used in fine motor tasks

What is the B variation of the inverted-U principle?

optimal level of arousal is average, meaning that something will not as influenced by high or low arousal

What is the C variation of the inverted-U principle?

optimal level of arousal is hear the higher end, which is best suited for gross motor tasks

What is perceptual narrowing?

tendency for the perceptual field to shrink under stress with high arousal

Why is perceptual narrowing important?

because it allows the person to devote more attention to those sources of stimuli that are immediately most likely and relevant

What is choking under pressure?

a scenario in which a performer changes a normal routine or fails to adapt to a changing situation, resulting in failed performance

What causes choking under pressure?

it may occur when there is a change in one’s attention focus from external to internal

What do the examples of the automaton duck and the “the Writer” show?

show that if someone is able to create technology to mimic things in nature, then maybe that can tell us somethings about how the real thing works

What are the parts in a closed-loop system?

executive, effector and comparator

What does an executive do in a closed-loop system?

make decisions (stimulus identification, response selection, movement programming)

What does the effector do in a closed-loop system?

does the work, which is usually the muscle

What is the comparator in an closed-loop system?

compares feedback from the current state of the system and then compares it to the desired state (difference is the error)

What is the difference between a closed-loop system and an open-loop system?

a closed-loop system has time to use feedback, and an open-loop system does not

What movement times are considered to be under open-loop control?

movements that completed in less than 200ms are considered to rapid and under open-loop control

What movement times are considered to be under closed-loop control?

movements completed in greater than 200ms are considered slow and under closed-loop control

What are the different types of feedback?

proprioception, exteroception, and exproprioception

What is proprioception?

information about body position and movement, relative to the body

What is exteroception?

information about the external environment

What is exproprioception?

information about body position and movement, relative to the environment

What are some sources of feedback information for motor control?

vision, audition, vestibular apparatus, joint receptors, tendon organs, muscle spindles and cutaneous receptors

What is audition?

the sense of hearing

What is the vestibular apparatus?

semicircular canals filled with fluid in the inner ear, that provide information about head position relative to gravity, rotary and linear acceleration of the head and helps with balance and visual tracking

What are joint receptors?

located within the joint capsule, that provide information about joint position (extreme ranges of motion)

What are golgi tendon organs?

located at the junction between muscle and tendon, and provide information about tendon/muscle tension and can elicit an inhibitory response