title: Manipulations of the relationship between response alternatives and exogenous saccade latencies.
abstract: The relationship between the latencies of saccadic eye movements and the number of response alternatives is complex. Previously, we have found a decrease in exogenous saccade latencies with an increase in the number of response alternatives (i.e., an anti-Hick's effect). In the present study, we examined the effect of bottom up and top down influences on the effect. In Experiment 1, we found that the anti-Hick's effect is dependent upon the number, as opposed to the configuration, of response alternatives, suggesting that the effect is not a purely bottom up phenomenon. In Experiment 2, we examined whether top down processes, such as expectancy, influence the magnitude and/or direction of the relationship between response alternatives and reaction time. We found that interleaving, as opposed to blocking, the number of alternatives negated the anti-Hick's effect. Taken together, these results suggest that the anti-Hick's effect arises not only from stimulus-based perceptual signals but also from higher-order control signals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA. bonnie.lawrence@nyu.edu
authors.forename: Bonnie M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Lawrence
authors.forename: Joseph S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Weaver
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology*; D012438:Saccades / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult