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Influence of practice on response-selection and response-implementation processes involved in the
Melanie A Hart1, T Gilmour Reeve
1School of Health, Physical Education and Leisure Services, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls 50614-0241, USA. melanie.hart@uni.edu
Acta Psychologica
|February 1, 2002
Summary
Practice influences reaction time, but its effect on the response-interference effect depends on the task. While practice did not alter the response-interference effect in response-selection tasks, it did decrease it in response-implementation tasks.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive psychology
- Human motor control
- Experimental psychology
Background:
- The response-interference effect increases reaction times when responses use the same hand.
- Research on practice's influence on reaction-time effects is limited, especially concerning the response-interference effect.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how practice affects the response-interference effect.
- To differentiate the impact of practice on response-selection versus response-implementation processes.
Main Methods:
- Experiment 1: Bilateral transfer task to assess practice's influence on response-selection.
- Experiment 2: Priming task to assess practice's influence on response-implementation.
Main Results:
- Practice decreased reaction times but did not affect the response-interference effect in Experiment 1 (response-selection).
- Practice altered the response-interference effect in Experiment 2 (response-implementation).
Conclusions:
- Practice impacts reaction time but not uniformly across all cognitive processes.
- With limited finger use, practice modifies mechanical constraints in response-implementation, reducing the response-interference effect.