Abstract
An extension of Hick's law: Implications for human information processing
Journal of sport & exercise psychology, Vol.24(s1), pp.S78-S78
North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity Conference
2002
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Abstract
Previous studies have challenged the cognitive system by increasing the informational demands on one or more stages of information processing. These studies hypothesized that increased complexity of stimulus, selection, or response has a negative impact on the speed of information processing. One study in this vein was Hick (1952) and his now classic finding of Hick’s Law. The current study used Hick’s Law methodology to investigate the extent to which challenging the informational demands of the cognitive system impacts reaction time in a systematic, linear fashion. Specifically, the study examined the effects of independently and/or simultaneously challenging stages of information processing. A 3 (Response Selection) x 2 (Stimulus Identification) x 2 (Response Programming) ANOVA with repeated measures on all factors was used to analyze mean reaction time data. The results indicated that, to a point, information processing increases in a systematic, linear fashion. However, when the cognitive load reaches a critical point, speed of processing is negatively impacted, as seen in an exponential increase in reaction time. Movement time analysis in complex response conditions indicated a similar increase at a certain level of informational load. One explanation of these findings is that the information processing system has a predefined processing speed within a limited capacity. Once this capacity is reached, processing slows exponentially.
Details
- Title
- An extension of Hick's law: Implications for human information processing
- Creators
- M KearneyMitchell Grant Longstaff - Southern Cross UniversityM DunnMark Guadagnoli
- Publication Details
- Journal of sport & exercise psychology, Vol.24(s1), pp.S78-S78
- Conference
- North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity Conference
- Publisher
- Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc.
- Identifiers
- 991013291455602368
- Copyright
- © 2003 Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc.
- Academic Unit
- Human Sciences; Faculty of Health
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Abstract