Simple and choice reaction time methods in the study of motor programming

In an extensive series of experiments Sternberg, Monsell, Knoll, and Wright (1978) reported that simple RT increased as a linear function of the number of items to be pronounced or typed. The present experiments replicate a portion of these results, but show that the effect is less general than may have been supposed. Since the effect does not occur in every case in which a response programming interpretation would predict it, this interpretation must be rejected. This conclusion is consistent with the viewpoint that response programming should be investigated in a choice- rather than simple-RT paradigm. In this view, motivated subjects can program responses in advance of the simple-RT interval because the particular response to be made has been precued. Effects of response parameters which are observed for motivated subjects in the simple-RT paradigm, such as those reported by Sternberg et al. (1978), should be attributed to processes other than programming motor responses.     

The Prevention Delivery System: Organizational Context and Use of Comprehensive Programming Frameworks

The purpose of this exploratory study is to investigate organizational‐level mechanisms in the Prevention Delivery System (PDS) and their influence on implementing comprehensive programming frameworks (e.g., Communities that Care‐CtC) as the innovation. The PDS is part of the Interactive Systems Framework for Dissemination and Implementation (ISF) and describes key characteristics of innovation implementation and dissemination. The study addresses two research questions: (1) What types of organizational characteristics are related to successful use of each of the programming processes (i.e., planning, implementation, evaluation, and sustainability) that are part of comprehensive programming frameworks?; and (2) What are the similarities and differences in the organizational patterns correlated with use of each of the programming processes? Surveys, interview data, and other documents designed to assess organizational characteristics and extent of use of a comprehensive programming framework over time, were collected from 8 Community boards and 23 provider agencies. These organizations were responsible for planning and delivering substance abuse prevention services as part of a statewide initiative in Ohio. Data were analyzed using Spearman rho (and rank‐biserial) correlations, with an emphasis on effect sizes. Results indicated that leadership, shared vision, process advocates, and technical assistance were common correlates of use across programming processes. However, the role played by these organizational variables differed for each programming process, pointing to complex interactions of the organizational infrastructure with other variables (i.e., characteristics of the innovation itself and external macro‐level factors). This exploratory study provides preliminary data on the organizational‐level mechanisms of the PDS and the complexity of their relationships with the other Systems in the Interactive Systems Framework.     

Programming without programming: The system Butterfly for professional psychologists

This paper describes a system for creating and running adaptive psychological experiments on IBM PC compatible computers. The system is a collection of programming routines for IBM PC machines (text mode) that allows psychologists to create and edit experiments, collect and handle data, and transfer data into other systems without any programming. Stimulus variables include location, character, time, color, and sound. A special set of criteria is designed to conduct adaptive studies, such as operant conditioning experiments, in which experimental trials must be modified on the basis of a subject’s performance. The system supports multidimensional structural responses with feedback. Reaction and response time and the response contents can be collected from the keyboard, mouse, and game port.     

Programming of time-to-peak force for brief isometric force pulses: effects on reaction time

According to the parallel force unit model (PFUM) the programming of an isometric force pulse requires the specification of the number of force units and force unit duration. The programming of a force pulse with minimal time-to-peak force is an exception, however, as force unit duration is limited by the minimal possible value, which should be easier to adjust than larger force unit durations. Therefore, the duration of the programming process should be shorter for these force pulses and hence should result in shorter reaction time (RT). Four experiments assessed this prediction using a response precueing procedure. In each experiment the participants produced isometric flexions with their left or right index finger, and time-to-peak force was manipulated within a block. The results are consistent with the predictions of PFUM. The results, however, are at variance with alternative accounts which assume that RT depends primarily on response duration or rate of force production.     

Programming of time-to-peak force for brief isometric force pulses: Effects on reaction time

According to the parallel force unit model (PFUM) the programming of an isometric force pulse requires the specification of the number of force units and force unit duration. The programming of a force pulse with minimal time-to-peak force is an exception, however, as force unit duration is limited by the minimal possible value, which should be easier to adjust than larger force unit durations. Therefore, the duration of the programming process should be shorter for these force pulses and hence should result in shorter reaction time (RT). Four experiments assessed this prediction using a response precueing procedure. In each experiment the participants produced isometric flexions with their left or right index finger, and time-to-peak force was manipulated within a block. The results are consistent with the predictions of PFUM. The results, however, are at variance with alternative accounts which assume that RT depends primarily on response duration or rate of force production.     

Programming experiments with pocket programmable calculators

The use of programmable calculators as research equipment for stimulus presentation and response recording, in addition to their use in mathematical and statistical analysis, is proposed. The calculators may be used alone or in conjunction with other equipment in programming experiments.     

The programming of structural properties of movement sequences

Summary The present paper investigates the role of abstract structural properties in the programming and execution of movement sequences. Three experiments, using converging methods, demonstrate that the motor system represents the abstract structural properties of movement sequences. The first two experiments show that hierarchical structures over a sequence of tapping movements can be used to prepare the motor program, even if the specific elements of the sequence are still unknown. Experiment 2 also shows that the preliminary programming of structural properties of a movement sequence takes more time than the programming of specific elements ( start elements). Experiment 3 suggests that abstract structural properties can be generalized from a special sequence and that they are transferable to other sequences. Abstract structural properties are assumed to be an important component of generalized motor programs.     

Intermanual interactions during simultaneous execution and programming of finger movements

In bimanual movements, some differences between the movements performed by the two hands cause interference, while others do not. Similarly, in choice between responses with the left and right hand some differences between the two movements increase RT, while others do not. It is suggested that both kinds of effects are, at least in part, due to the incompatibility between processes that determine characteristics of movements jointly for both hands and that are present during preparation as well as during execution. This hypothesis implies that during execution of one movement, programming of a different movement to be performed with the other hand should be impaired, as compared to a condition in which the successive movements of both hands are the same. this expectation was confirmed for finger movements of different forms where an effect on choice RT had been shown previously. On the other hand, interference between execution and programming is not to be expected when successive movements differ in characteristics that are likely to be specified separately for each hand, as indicated by a lacking effect in choice experiments. This expectation was confirmed for successive movements performed with different fingers of either hand as compared to movements performed with the same fingers.     

Planning and Preparing Expected and Unexpected Movements

Using variations of the movement precue method, this study sought to define the operational characteristics of motoric decisions that govern the planning and preparation of arm, direction, and extent of movement. Experiment 1 examined how these parameters are programmed when the precue method does not confound motoric and nonmotoric decision processes. Experiment 2 examined how an already planned and prepared response is modified (reprogrammed) when an unexpected response must be executed in its place. The collective results of both experiments demonstrated that (a) these parameters were planned and prepared in a specific order; knowledge about direction was necessary for the programming of arm or extent, (b) arm and extent were reprogrammed independently from direction but changes in direction caused all parameters to be reprogrammed, and (c) programming and reprogramming processes operated in a parallel mode when two or more parameters were involved. The results also showed that these parameters were organized within a hierarchical structure. The present findings were discussed in relation to those reported in previous precue studies and existing models of response programming.     

SNP: A system for nonadaptive procedures

A software system which is currently being used to collect and analyze data for a wide range of auditory psychophysical procedures is described. Its principal advantages are its scope, its ease of use during data collection, the uniformity it lends to data collection procedures in widely different experiments, and the fact that no additional programming is required to run most experiments. Although the system reflects a specific interface configuration and the availability of an 8K PDP-15, the programming has been done in FORTRAN and contains a number of features which may be of interest to even Es building hard-wired programming devices.     

Planning and preparing expected and unexpected movements: reexamining the relationships of arm, direction, and extent of movement

Using variations of the movement precue method, this study sought to define the operational characteristics of motoric decisions that govern the planning and preparation of arm, direction, and extent of movement. Experiment 1 examined how these parameters are programmed when the precue method does not confound motoric and nonmotoric decision processes. Experiment 2 examined how an already planned and prepared response is modified (reprogrammed) when an unexpected response must be executed in its place. The collective results of both experiments demonstrated that (a) these parameters were planned and prepared in a specific order; knowledge about direction was necessary for the programming of arm or extent; (b) arm and extent were reprogrammed independently from direction but changes in direction caused all parameters to be reprogrammed, and (c) programming and reprogramming processes operated in a parallel mode when two or more parameters were involved. The results also showed that these parameters were organized within a hierarchical structure. The present findings were discussed in relation to those reported in previous precue studies and existing models of response programming.     

Apple slide tachistoscope

We outline a BASIC program and subsidiary machine language timing routines that enable the Apple II series of computers to be employed as control devices for the tachistoscopic presentation of 35-mm slides and the collection of response latencies. The program is functional for experiments that require pictorial stimuli to be presented in up to three separate fields, with precise display times, precise interstimulus and intertriai intervals, and the collection of manual or vocal reaction times with millisecond accuracy. The major advantages of this system are that initial setup costs are substantially lower than those for other similar systems (e.g., Loftus, Gillispie. Tigre, & Nelson, 1984) and that user customization of the program may be accomplished by anyone possessing rudimentary knowledge of the BASIC programming language.     

Paradoxical sleep: is it the guardian of psychological individualism

The brain is the sole organ of homeotherms that do not undergo cell division. We thus have to explain how certain aspects of psychological heredity (found in homozygotes twins raised in different surroundings) may persist for a whole life (psychological individuation). A definitive genetic programming during development (by neurogenesis) is unlikely due to the plasticity of the nervous system. That's why we have to consider the possibility of an iterative genetic programming. The internal mechanisms (synchronous) of paradoxical sleep (SP) are particularly adapted to such programming. This would activate an endogenous system of stimulation that would stimulate and stabilize receptors genetically programmed by DNA in some neuronal circuits. The excitation of these neurons during SP leads to oniric behaviours that could be experimentally revealed--the lists of these behaviours are specific to each individual and indirect data suggest a genetic component of this programming. Amongst the mechanisms allowing the iterative programming of SP, sleep is particularly important. Security--and hence the inhibition of the arousal system--is a sine qua non condition for genetic programming to take place. In that sense, sleep could very well be the guardian of dreaming. On the other hand, sleep seems to be necessary for the accumulation of energetic resources used by the cholinergic mechanisms of SP. The temporal modalities of SP (diachronic organization) are also discussed in relation to phylogenesis. Thus, the absence of SP in poikilotherms is explained by a continual neurogenesis in the adult. During ontogenesis in mammals, a stage of programming by neurogenesis (seismic sleep) precedes the appearance of SP so long as the programming system isn't functional. The presence, or absence, of rebound after SP deprivation is interpreted in terms of the existence, or non existence, of stress during SP suppression. An explanation is proposed to account for the absence of specific effects of SP deprivation in humans. In the same way somatic intraspecific variability is one of the conditions of evolution, it is proposed that one of the functions of SP is to maintain psychological variability in a given population.     

Animal experimentation

Millions of animals are used every year in oftentimes extremely painful and distressing scientific procedures. Legislation of animal experimentation in modern societies is based on the supposition that this is ethically acceptable when certain more or less defined formal (e.g. logistical, technical) demands and ethical principles are met. The main parameters in this context correspond to the “3Rs” concept as defined by Russel and Burch in 1959, i.e. that all efforts to replace, reduce and refine experiments must be undertaken. The licensing of animal experiments normally requires an ethical evaluation process, oftentimes undertaken by ethics committees. The serious problems in putting this idea into practice include inter alia unclear conditions and standards for ethical decisions, insufficient management of experiments undertaken for specific (e.g. regulatory) purposes, and conflicts of interest of ethics committees’ members. There is an ongoing societal debate about ethical issues of animal use in science. Existing EU legislation on animal experimentation for cosmetics testing is an example of both the public will for setting clear limits to animal experiments and the need to further critically examine other fields and aspects of animal experimentation. This paper was presented at the 6th International Bioethics Conference on the subject of ‘The Responsible Conduct of Basic and Clinical Research’, held in Warsaw, Poland, 3–4 June 2005. The paper has been expanded from an article to be published in the forthcoming Council of Europe publication entitled “Animal Protection and Welfare”.     

The Functional Measurement Experiment Builder suite: Two Java-based programs to generate and run functional measurement experiments

We propose a free, easy-to-use computer program that does not requires prior knowledge of computer programming to generate and run experiments using textual or pictorial stimuli. Although the FM Experiment Builder suite was initially programmed for building and conducting FM experiments, it can also be applied for non-FM experiments that necessitate randomized, single, or multifactorial designs. The program is highly configurable, allowing multilingual use and a wide range of different response formats. The outputs of the experiments are Microsoft Excel compatible .xls files that allow easy copy-paste of the results into Weiss's FM CalSTAT program (2006) or any other statistical package. Its Java-based structure is compatible with both Windows and Macintosh operating systems, and its compactness (< 1 MB) makes it easily distributable over the Internet.     

A multi-purpose logic module for behavioral experiments

A notational system has been developed that can be used to describe most reinforcement schedules or other sequential procedures by appropriately interconnecting the basic notational units. The notational language has been applied in the past to develop a user-oriented computer program for behavioral experiments. The present paper describes a digital logic module designed to be isomorphic with the basic unit of the notational language, thus permitting rapid programming of new experiments directly from the notational system. The major advantage of the new module is that it requires no electronic sophistication on the part of the user, since the one module serves as the basic unit of all experiments.     

Origins,uses of,and relations between goal programming and data envelopment analysis

Origins and uses of ‘goal programming’ and ‘data envelopment analysis’ (DEA) are identified and discussed. The purpose of this paper is not only to review some of the history of these developments, but also to show some of their uses (e.g. in statistical regression formulations) in order to suggest paths for possible further developments. Turning to how the two types of models relate to each other, the ‘additive model’ of DEA is shown to have the same structure as a goal programming model in which only ‘one‐sided deviations’ are permitted. A way for formally relating the two to each other is then provided. However, the objectives are differently oriented because goal programming is directed to future performances as part of the planning function whereas DEA is directed to evaluating past performances as part of the control function of management. Other possible ways of comparing and combining the two approaches are also noted including statistical regressions that utilize goal programming to ensure that the resulting estimates satisfy the multi‐criteria conditions that are often encountered in managerial applications. Both goal programming and DEA originated in actual applications that were successfully addressed. The research was then generalized and published. This leads to what is referred to as an ‘applications‐driven theory’ strategy for research that is also described in this paper. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.