The relationship of impulse to response timing error

This paper examines the relationship between response impulse and timing error in 200 msec discrete timing responses over a range of movement velocities and system masses. The results from two experiments showed that variable timing error decreased as both movement velocity and the mass of the system to be moved increased. The variability of force proportional to force (measured either as impulse or peak force) decreased curvilinearly as force out-put increased. The correlations between each of these parameters and variable timing errors, calculated on a group mean basis, ranged between.91 and.95. The ability to predict the movement time outcome of each individual trial from impulse-related parameters was considerably reduced, although the relationship between the various kinematic and kinetic parameters did strengthen as the movement velocity approached maximum. Collectively, the findings show the size of impulse is related to movement timing error, although it is premature argue that impulse variability is a causal agent of timing error.     

The timing of brain events: authors' response to Libet's 'reply'

A commentary in response to B. Libet: 'The timing of brain events: Reply to the "Special Section" in this journal of September 2004, edited by Susan Pockett' ().     

The relationship of target and response complexity in coincident timing performance

This paper reports two experiments concerned with the interaction of response and target factors in a coincident timing situation. Coincident timing involves executing a response to intercept a moving target. The target response relationship was manipulated in the first experiment by providing some targets with no structure (linear path) and others containing 1 and 2 bounce points. In the second experiment, responses required 0, 1, or 2 reversals in direction. The results provide tentative support for the notion that structure in the target path could be linked to the key temporal response dynamics for improved performance consistency, and that subjects may alter their response structure to incorporate this linkage. This can be further extended to the advantage of simply moving while perceiving movement. This paper stresses the importance of examining the perceptual and motor requirements of the coincident timing skill in unison.     

How choice of mouse may affect response timing in psychological studies

Mice from the early 1990s seemed to offer a cheap and viable alternative to more expensive response boxes, with fairly consistent results being found between studies. However, has anything changed in the intervening decade? Are newer mice technologies necessarily better? Is USB a better mouse interface than the old-fashioned serial interface? With such questions in mind, we outline a method for bench-testing the timing characteristics of mice outside of a PC, in order to predict their contribution to response timing. A sample set of mice was testedunder a visual stimulus—response paradigm, using E-Prime to compare predicted performance with measured response registration. A representative range of mice technologies was tested alongside a standard keyboard and an E-Prime deluxe response box. The implications for using any response device other than a recognized response box are discussed.     

Statistical dependence in response timing: A critique of reece 1976

The existence of an error is pointed out in the theoretical development of Reece's (1976) article ‘A model of temporal tracking’. Because his data presentation consists entirely of estimates based on an incorrect equation, his article fails to make an empirical contribution and his conclusions should be discounted.     

The bottleneck of the psychological refractory period effect involves timing of response initiation rather than response selection

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review - The Psychological Refractory Period (PRP) effect is a delay in responding that is assumed to be caused by a bottleneck that prevents preparation of a second...     

Therapist response modes in the exploration stage: timing and effectiveness

In an investigation of the exploration stage of single counselling sessions with 26 anxious female volunteer clients and 13 female doctoral student therapists, no overall association was found between client narrative processing modes and subsequent therapist verbal response modes. There was evidence in a third of the sample for an association between therapist response modes and subsequent client narrative modes, such that clients used more internal than external or reflexive narrative processing modes when therapists used open questions about feelings and reflections of feelings. Client and therapist helpfulness ratings did not differ for different therapist response modes or client narrative process modes. Hence, overall results suggested that all four therapist response modes (open questions about thoughts, open questions about feelings, restatements, reflections of feelings) are effective during the exploration stage.     

The kinematics,movement phasing and timing of a skilled action in response to varying conditions of uncertainty

This study was designed to provide a detailed analysis of the parameters which interact to produce a field hockey drive. The drive was performed by an elite performer under two conditions of uncertainty (Blocked and Random). The subject was asked to drive a field hockey ball toward a specified target. In the Blocked condition the speed of the approaching ball remained constant (20, 30 and 40 m.p.h.) while in the Random condition these speeds were randomly assigned to each trial. Cine analysis of the subject's successful responses under the two experimental conditions led to an investigation of the kinematics, phasing, and timing of the stroke. The subject placed emphasis upon varying the initial phases of the stroke (i.e., backswing and preparatory phases) in order to produce a temporally consistent ballistic downswing to ball contact. It seemed likely that the subject appraised the ball speed that was being delivered and then incorporated additional stick movement to ‘mark time’ before initiating temporally consistent movement phases, as spatial uncertainty increased, the subject delayed her response initiation, but then tended to respond in intervals of one reaction time for each stroke phase. Consistency was evident for displacement and initiation point values, but to a lesser extent than existed for the other variables. However, as a result of this adjustment in spatial location and displacement of the stick end during the preliminary phases of the response, the subject was able to produce a consistent and accurate ballistic downswing.     

Animal timing: a synthetic approach

Inspired by Spence’s seminal work on transposition, we propose a synthetic approach to understanding the temporal control of operant behavior. The approach takes as primitives the temporal generalization gradients obtained in prototypical concurrent and retrospective timing tasks and then combines them to synthetize more complex temporal performances. The approach is instantiated by the learning-to-time (LeT) model. The article is divided into three parts. In the first part, we review the basic findings concerning the generalization gradients observed in fixed-interval schedules, the peak procedure, and the temporal generalization procedure and then describe how LeT explains them. In the second part, we use LeT to derive by gradient combination the typical performances observed in mixed fixed-interval schedules, the free-operant psychophysical procedure, the temporal bisection task, and the double temporal bisection task. We also show how the model plays the role of a useful null hypothesis to examine whether temporal control in the bisection task is relative or absolute. In the third part, we identify a set of issues that must be solved to advance our understanding of temporal control, including the shape of the generalization gradients outside the range of trained stimulus durations, the nature of temporal memories, the influence of context on temporal learning, whether temporal control can be inhibitory, and whether temporal control is also relational. These issues attest to the heuristic value of a Spencean approach to temporal control.     

The effect of alcohol administration on human timing: a comparison of prospective timing, retrospective timing and passage of time judgements

Previous research suggests that human timing may be affected by alcohol administration. The current study aimed to expand on previous research by examining the effect of alcohol on prospective timing, retrospective timing and passage of time judgements. A blind between-subjects design was employed in which participants were either administered 0 g of alcohol per kilogramme of body weight (placebo), 0.4 g/kg (low dose) or 0.6 g/kg (high dose). Participants completed four types of temporal task; verbal estimation and temporal generalisation, a retrospective timing task and a passage of time judgement task. A high dose of alcohol resulted in overestimations of duration relative to the low dose and placebo group in the verbal estimation task. A high dose of alcohol was also associated with time passing more quickly than normal. Alcohol had no effect on retrospective judgements. The results suggest that a high dose of alcohol increases internal clock speed leading to over-estimations of duration on prospective timing tasks, and the sensation of time passing more quickly than normal. The absence of an effect of alcohol on retrospective timing supports the suggestion that retrospective judgements are not based on the output of an internal clock.     

Testing the accuracy of timing reports in visual timing tasks with a consumer-grade digital camera

This study tested the accuracy of a visual timing task using a readily available and relatively inexpensive consumer grade digital camera. A visual inspection time task was recorded using short high-speed video clips and the timing as reported by the task’s program was compared to the timing as recorded in the video clips. Discrepancies in these two timing reports were investigated further and based on display refresh rate, a decision was made whether the discrepancy was large enough to affect the results as reported by the task. In this particular study, the errors in timing were not large enough to impact the results of the study. The procedure presented in this article offers an alternative method for performing a timing test, which uses readily available hardware and can be used to test the timing in any software program on any operating system and display.     

Training for transfer of a movement timing skill

Previous findings by Langley and Zelaznik (1984) suggested two hypotheses why segmental (phasing) timing training produced a more superior transfer than nonsegmental (duration) timing training. One view (the higher order variable hypothesis) suggested that segmental training developed a timing skill that was flexible for various types of transfer tasks. Another view (the contextual interference hypothesis) was that the difficulty associated with segmental training was sufficient to provide this flexibility for later transfer. The present study contrasted these hypotheses by comparing transfer following phasing or duration training but which was low in contextual interference. The acquisition results favor a contextual interference explanation. The transfer results, however, are clearly a function of the development of a higher order timing skill. These findings are discussed in terms of the development of a timing skill that is best suited for flexibility of transfer.     

Yu in the Xunzi: toward a precise understanding

An ongoing dialogue in Xunzi scholarship addresses the role of yu (欲), often rendered as ‘desire,’ in motivation, but little has been said about what yu actually is, or whether the translation of ‘desire’ accurately reflects Xunzi’s use of the term. Employing textual analysis alongside research in cognitive science, most notably work on the so-called ‘wanting-liking’ distinction, I work toward a more precise understanding of Xunzi’s notion of yu and its functions. I suggest that yu be construed as a kind of desire with an emphasis on ‘wanting’ that, while motivational, differs from broader, less precise notions of desire, and that this feature constitutes a distinctive aspect of Xunzi’s philosophy of psychology. In so doing, I propose a particular methodological approach for the interpretation of classical Chinese philosophy: when interpreting concepts that are subjects of empirical inquiry, empirical findings should lead us to favor some interpretations over others.     

The effects of explicit timing and feedback on compositional response rate in elementary school children

The effects of several variables on compositional response rate were investigated in three classrooms. After establishing baseline composition rates in each of the three classrooms, an experimental phase was introduced that consisted of: explicit timing of the children's composition period with a stopwatch, immediate feedback on the number of words each child produced, public posting of the greatest number of words written by each child to date, and instructions to try to exceed their highest score. In the second-grade classroom, these conditions were introduced, removed, and re-introduced. In two fifth-grade classrooms, these conditions were introduced according to a multiple baseline, across classes. In all cases, introduction of the experimental conditions led to a doubling of rate of words written by students and an increase in subjective quality ratings of compositions made by independent judges.     

PET Flasher: A machine language subroutine for timing visual displays and response latencies

PET Flasher presents a one-line stimulus display at any location on a PET/CBM (Commodore Business Machines) screen and measures reaction time from display onset. Display duration is accurately controlled in 16.7-msec steps, and reaction time measurement is accurate within ±1 msec. PET Flasher is easily incorporated within any PET/CBM BASIC program, since as a subroutine, it is called only when precise timing operations are required.