Effects of delays on human performance on a temporal discrimination procedure: evidence of a choose-short effect.
Studies of temporal discrimination in non-human subjects have reliably shown a choose-short effect: higher matching accuracy on short-duration-sample trials than on long-duration-sample trials. This effect occurs as a function of increasing the delay between the onset of sample and comparison stimuli in a delayed matching-to-sample procedure. The present experiment investigated whether the choose-short effect could be demonstrated in human subjects under conditions which paralleled those used with non-human subjects. Subjects responded under a discrete-trial procedure in which they were required to push one of two buttons depending on the duration of a sample stimulus (a blue square on a computer monitor). Delays (0, 8, 16, and 32s) separated sample and comparison stimuli (two white boxes) and were tested both within and across several sessions. Intermediate durations (probe stimuli between 2 and 4s) were also presented. The addition of a delay between the sample and comparison stimuli produced a bias to judge intervals as short when the 8 and 32-s delays were tested across sessions and when the 0, 16, and 32-s delays were tested within the same session. Thus, the choose-short effect was produced in human subjects using the interval bisection procedure regardless of delay length.
Lieving
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LM
Human Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Science, University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center, 1300 Moursund Street, Houston, TX 77030-3497, USA. lori.lieving@uth.tmc.edu
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D000328:Adult; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D004193:Discrimination Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012016:Reference Values; D013998:Time Perception / Q000502:physiology*