Reaction time, response time and Hick's law

Overview

Reaction, movement and response time with worked examples, simple and choice reaction time, Hick's law and its graph, and the factors affecting response time.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   Define reaction time.

   Model answer

   Reaction time is the time from the onset of a stimulus to the start of the response.

2. 2

   Define movement time.

   Model answer

   Movement time is the time from the start of a movement to its completion.

3. 3

   Define response time.

   Model answer

   Response time is the time from the onset of the stimulus to the completion of the movement. Response time equals reaction time plus movement time.

4. 4

   A sprinter has a reaction time of 0.16 s and a movement time of 9.84 s. What is the sprinter's response time?

   Model answer

   The sprinter's response time is 10.00 s. Reaction time plus movement time gives 0.16 s + 9.84 s = 10.00 s.

5. 5

   A goalkeeper has a response time of 0.62 s and a reaction time of 0.21 s. Calculate the movement time.

   Model answer

   The goalkeeper's movement time is 0.41 s. Response time minus reaction time gives 0.62 s − 0.21 s = 0.41 s.

6. 6

   Define simple reaction time and give an example.

   Model answer

   Simple reaction time is the time taken to respond to one stimulus with one possible response. A sprinter reacting to the starting gun is an example.

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