Capacity sharing and refractoriness in successive reactions.
Subjects performed two rapidly successive tasks. They first pressed a key to stop a digital counter at one of three stopping times. The key-press was followed after a variable interval by the presentation of one of three lights, which required a choice response. 20 students and 20 flight cadets participated in the main experiment. Both responses showed impairment in the dual-task condition. The delay of the choice response was affected by the stopping time and by the interval between the key-press and the second stimulus. Complete refractoriness for a period of 200 msec. was observed only for the shortest stopping-time. In the other conditions, the delay of the second response decreased gradot support single-channel theory and are better explained by a capacity-sharing model on the assumption that preparation for a choice-response requires effort.
D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal; D001288:Attention; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003657:Decision Making; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills; D011930:Reaction Time; D012033:Refractory Period, Psychological; D013997:Time Factors