An information analysis of verbal and motor responses in a forced-paced serial task.

Abstract

Ten male subjects responded to the forced-paced serial presentation of Arabic numerals with both motor (key-pressing) and verbal (number-naming) responses. Stimulus complexity was varied between 1 and 3 bits/stimulus; stimulus presentation rate was varied between 1 and 3 stimuli/sec.; and, therefore, the rate of information presentation was varied between 1 and 9 bits/sec. The results indicated, in general, that within the limits of this study the larger the number of alternative stimuli and the slower the rate of stimulus presentation, the greater was the rate of information transmission by the human subjects. This was true for both verbal and motor responses. Thus, in forced-paced serial tasks it appears that the rate of handling information is not a simple function of the rate of information presentation per se. The results also illustrated 2 interaction effects: the interaction of stimulus complexity with stimulus rate; and the interaction of stimulus code with response mode (S-R compatibility effects) .