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Stimulus–response compatibility
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Stimulus–response compatibility
Stimulus–response (S–R) compatibility is the degree to which a person's perception of the world is compatible with the required action. S–R compatibility has been described as the "naturalness" of the association between a stimulus and its response, such as a left-oriented stimulus requiring a response from the left side of the body. A high level of S–R compatibility is typically associated with a shorter reaction time, whereas a low level of S-R compatibility tends to result in a longer reaction time, a phenomenon known as the Simon effect.
The term "stimulus-response compatibility" was first coined by Arnold Small in a presentation in 1951.
S–R compatibility can be seen in the variation in the amount of time taken to respond to a visual stimulus, given the similarity of the event that prompts the action, and the action itself. For example, a visual stimulus in the left of a person's field of vision is more compatible with a response involving the left hand than with a response involving the right hand.
In 1953, Paul Fitts and C. M. Seeger ran the first experiment conclusively demonstrating that certain responses are more compatible with certain stimuli, during which subjects were alternatively instructed to press buttons on their left and right in response to lights which could appear in either the left or right corner of their field of vision. The study found that subjects took longer when the stimulus and response were incompatible. This was not in and of itself evidence for a relationship between S–R compatibility and reaction time; an alternate hypothesis posited that the delay was simply the result of the sensory information taking longer to reach neural processing centers when hemispheres are crossed. This alternate hypothesis was disproven by a follow-up trial in which Fitts and Seeger had subjects cross their arms, so that the left hand would press the right button and vice versa; the difference between reaction times of subjects in the standard and crossed-arms trials was statistically insignificant, even though the neural signal traveled a greater distance.
The reverse scenario was tested in a 1954 experiment by Richard L. Deninger and Paul Fitts, in which it was demonstrated that subjects responded more quickly when the stimulus and response were compatible. Solid evidence that S-R compatibility impacted the response planning phase was not found until 1995, when Bernhard Hommel demonstrated that modifying stimuli in ways unrelated to S-R compatibility, such as the size of the objects on the computer screen, did not increase reaction time.
This phenomenon also applies to auditory stimuli. For example, hearing a tone in one ear prepares that side of the body to respond, and the reaction time will be longer if one is required to perform an action with the opposite side of the body as the side where the tone was heard, or vice versa.
In 2000, T. E. Roswarski and Robert Proctor conducted a variation of the original Fitts and Seeger experiment involving auditory tones in each ear instead of lights. The experiment showed that the reaction time for auditory signals is also influenced by S-R compatibility.
Another determinant of S-R compatibility is the destination of a moving stimulus. For example, an object moving towards the right hand is more compatible with a right-hand response than an object moving towards the left hand, even if the object is closer to the left hand when the stimulus is perceived.
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Stimulus–response compatibility AI simulator
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Stimulus–response compatibility
Stimulus–response (S–R) compatibility is the degree to which a person's perception of the world is compatible with the required action. S–R compatibility has been described as the "naturalness" of the association between a stimulus and its response, such as a left-oriented stimulus requiring a response from the left side of the body. A high level of S–R compatibility is typically associated with a shorter reaction time, whereas a low level of S-R compatibility tends to result in a longer reaction time, a phenomenon known as the Simon effect.
The term "stimulus-response compatibility" was first coined by Arnold Small in a presentation in 1951.
S–R compatibility can be seen in the variation in the amount of time taken to respond to a visual stimulus, given the similarity of the event that prompts the action, and the action itself. For example, a visual stimulus in the left of a person's field of vision is more compatible with a response involving the left hand than with a response involving the right hand.
In 1953, Paul Fitts and C. M. Seeger ran the first experiment conclusively demonstrating that certain responses are more compatible with certain stimuli, during which subjects were alternatively instructed to press buttons on their left and right in response to lights which could appear in either the left or right corner of their field of vision. The study found that subjects took longer when the stimulus and response were incompatible. This was not in and of itself evidence for a relationship between S–R compatibility and reaction time; an alternate hypothesis posited that the delay was simply the result of the sensory information taking longer to reach neural processing centers when hemispheres are crossed. This alternate hypothesis was disproven by a follow-up trial in which Fitts and Seeger had subjects cross their arms, so that the left hand would press the right button and vice versa; the difference between reaction times of subjects in the standard and crossed-arms trials was statistically insignificant, even though the neural signal traveled a greater distance.
The reverse scenario was tested in a 1954 experiment by Richard L. Deninger and Paul Fitts, in which it was demonstrated that subjects responded more quickly when the stimulus and response were compatible. Solid evidence that S-R compatibility impacted the response planning phase was not found until 1995, when Bernhard Hommel demonstrated that modifying stimuli in ways unrelated to S-R compatibility, such as the size of the objects on the computer screen, did not increase reaction time.
This phenomenon also applies to auditory stimuli. For example, hearing a tone in one ear prepares that side of the body to respond, and the reaction time will be longer if one is required to perform an action with the opposite side of the body as the side where the tone was heard, or vice versa.
In 2000, T. E. Roswarski and Robert Proctor conducted a variation of the original Fitts and Seeger experiment involving auditory tones in each ear instead of lights. The experiment showed that the reaction time for auditory signals is also influenced by S-R compatibility.
Another determinant of S-R compatibility is the destination of a moving stimulus. For example, an object moving towards the right hand is more compatible with a right-hand response than an object moving towards the left hand, even if the object is closer to the left hand when the stimulus is perceived.