Deck 8: Action Preparation

Question 1

Reaction time (RT) will be ________ as the duration of a required movement increases.

Answer 1

slower

Question 2

The _______ effect is the slowing of reaction time when a person must name a color's name but the color is different from the printed name, compared to when the printed name and its color are the same.

Answer 2

Stroop

Question 3

Based on research evidence, which of the following best describes the organization of postural muscle preparation for performing a well-learned skill?

A) A flexibly organized synergy of onset orders for the muscles involved
B) A randomly organized set of onset orders for the muscles involved
C) A rigid temporal organization that specifies the onset order for the muscles involved
D) Postural muscle preparation is not a part of the action preparation process

Answer 3

A

Question 4

For skills that involve a starting signal and require movement as quickly as possible after this signal (e.g., swimming, sprint), the amount of time between the warning and start signal should be:

A) As constant as possible for every start
B) As short as possible for every start
C) The same for every start
D) Varied for every start

Question 5

Hick's Law relates to reaction time situations that involve various complexities of movement.

Question 6

The general finding about the relationship between stimulus-response compatibility and reaction time is that as stimulus-response compatibility relationship becomes more compatible, reaction time becomes ________.

Question 7

The most common performance measure used for inferring the amount of time required for action preparation is:

A) Motor time
B) Movement time
C) Reaction time
D) Response time

Question 8

Which of the following has the highest degree of stimulus-response compatibility? Three response buttons are located on a table top; three stimulus lights are located:

A) In a horizontal arrangement beside the set of response buttons
B) In a vertical arrangement beside the set of response buttons
C) On the table top directly behind the response buttons
D) On a vertical panel but directly behind the response buttons

Question 9

A simple reaction time situation involves two signals and one response.

Question 10

If you need to perform a fast sequence of 3 movements, how will your RT for initiating this movement sequence compare to your RT for initiating a sequence of 6 movements? The RT for the 3 movements will be:

A) Faster than for the 6 movements
B) Slower than for the 6 movements
C) The same for both movement sequences
D) RT cannot be measured in these movement situations

Question 11

Consider the following performance situation: You are a basketball player guarding an opponent who has the ball. You know that about 80% of the time in this situation the player will move to your right and take a shot. So, you prepare to move in that direction. But, unexpectedly the player moves to your left. Which of the following describes your RT in this situation?

A) RT will be faster than if you had not prepared to move to the right
B) RT will be slower than if you had not prepared to move to the right
C) RT will be the same as if you had not prepared to move to the right
D) It is not possible to predict RT without more information about the situation

Question 12

Research related to movement complexity has shown that the longer movement preparation time is due to a longer:

A) Motor time
B) Premotor time
C) Response time
D) Motor and Premotor time

Question 13

For a series of 10 trials, reaction times will be faster when the foreperiods are the same amounts of time compared to when the foreperiods are different amounts of time.

Question 14

The abbreviation PRP refers to the ________.

Question 15

A 3-bit decision will require ________ yes/no decisions to arrive at the correct answer.

Question 16

The interval of time between the warning signal and the "go" signal in a reaction time task is called the ________.

Question 17

Vigilance research indicates that when we must maintain alertness over long periods of time our motor performance will:

A) Always be impaired
B) Be impaired only when the stimuli occur infrequently
C) Improve if the stimuli have occurred infrequently
D) Not be affected

Question 18

If you are standing with your arms at your side, and must move one arm as rapidly as possible to point to a target located at shoulder level in front of you, EMG would show that the muscles you activated first were the:

A) Agonist arm muscles
B) Antagonist arm muscles
C) Arm muscles of the opposite arm
D) Postural leg muscles

Question 19

Hick's Law states that reaction time (RT) will increase logarithmically as the:

A) Arousal level of the individual increases
B) Distance required by the movement increases
C) Movement complexity increases
D) Number of response choices increases

Question 20

If you prepare to move left in a right-left choice movement situation, but the signal tells you to move right, your reaction time will be ________ than if you had prepared to move either direction.

Question 21

Vigilance tasks involve the long-term maintenance of alertness in situations in which signals that must be responded to occur infrequently and irregularly.

Question 22

Athletes who engage in pre-performance rituals, such as the routine a basketball player goes through prior to shooting a free throw, are actually preparing the rhythm of the movements required by the activity.

Question 23

Postural preparation, which occurs prior to performing variations of the same activity, involves the same sequence of activation of postural muscles.

Question 24

The classic experiment by Henry and Rogers showed that the reaction time (RT) associated with a three-part rapid movement is slower than the RT associated with a one-part rapid movement.

Question 25

The fractionating of reaction time (RT) involves the use of EEG and EMG.