Reaction time

Question 1

What is simple reaction time?

Answer 1

• when there is only one stimulus and one response
• reaction time is very short
  Eg/ 100m start gun

Question 2

What is choice reaction time?

Answer 2

• when there are several stimuli and several possible responses
• reaction time will be slower
  Eg/ football open play with multiple teammates calling for a pass and several possible responses in terms of who to pass to and what type of pass

Question 3

What is reaction time?

Answer 3

The time taken from the onset of the stimulus to the onset of the response
Eg/ from when sprinter hears the gun to when they begin to push in the blocks

Question 4

What is movement time?

Answer 4

The time taken from the onset of the movement to the completion of the task
Eg/ from when the sprinter pushes on the blocks to when they cross the finish line

Question 5

What is response time?

Answer 5

The time taken from the onset of the stimulus to the completion of the task
Eg/ from when the sprinter hears the gun to when they cross the finish line

Question 6

What is Hick’s law?

Answer 6

• describes the impact of choice reaction time on performer
• states that as the number of choices increases, so does the time it takes to react
• the more choices there are, the slower the reaction time
• not a linear relationship

Question 7

What is the Single-channel hypothesis?

Answer 7

• states that although we detect many stimuli at once, we can only process one piece of information at a time
• further stimuli must wait because a ‘bottleneck’ occurs
• second stimulus must wait until the first stimulus has been fully processed until it can be dealt with
• the more stimuli present, the slower the reaction time

Question 8

What is the psychological refractory period?

Answer 8

• a delay in processing which causes reaction time to increase when a second stimulus is presented before the first has been processed
• caused when two or more stimuli arrive in quick succession for processing
• there is a delay in processing and the performer might freeze while they clarify and process the correct stimuli

Question 9

Give an example of the single channel hypothesis, including the psychological refactory period from football

Answer 9

• one stimulus processed at a time
• first stimulus is the opponent about to pass the ball left
• second stimulus is the opponent switching direction and passing the ball right
• second stimulus has arrived before first response can be completed
• cannot deal with the second stimulus until finished with the first stimulus
• causes a slower reaction time
• leading to the psychological refractory period
• so player reacts too late and opponent gets past

Question 10

what is temportal anticipation?

Answer 10

Predicting when he action will be performed
Eg/ sprinter predicting the gun in 100m sprint

Question 11

What is spacial anticipation?

Answer 11

Predicting what action is going to be performed and where
Eg/ rugby play adjusts grip on ball, so predict they are going to kick over top rather than pass back

Question 12

What are the stategies to improve response time?

Answer 12

• relevant practice the more you respond to a stimulus the faster your reactions
• selective attention concentrating on just the relevant information
• mental rehearsal muscles involved in the movement will become stimulated
• experience gives valuable insight of the stimulus meaning you can detect them quicker and respond faster
• improve fitness levels fitter you are, the quicker you can respond
• warm up if the body and mind are prepared you can respond more quickly
• gain optimal arousal
• detect cues early
• try anticipation

Question 13

What are the factors that affect response time?

Answer 13

• stimulus intensity
• previous experience/ stage of learning
• anticipation
• choice
• age
• temperature
• fatigue level
• drugs/ alcohol
• arousal level
• body size
• probability of stimulus