Effects of Practice on the Rate of Gain of Information in a Paper and Pencil Task

Investigations into the effects of practice on choice reaction time (CRT) performance and the rate of gain of information have produced confusing and often contradictory results. This seems to stem from the fact that (1) a small number of subjects were utilized and (2) there were an insufficient number of experimental conditions. In the present experiments, the author has developed a Reaction Time Battery (RTB) that allows a large group of subjects to be tested efficiently and economically. Using three levels of stimulus uncertainty (1, 2, or 3 bits) factorial to two levels of S-R compatibility (low and high), Experiment 1 was designed to evaluate the degree to which the RTB would replicate previous research. The RTB was found to be reliable in producing results typically found using the traditional CRT paradigm. In Experiment 2, using an identical 3 x 2 factorial design, 72 subjects were given 210 stimulus presentations per day for five consecutive days. The results indicate that practice clearly affects the relative compatibility of an S-R ensemble such that differences between two compatibility groups can be eliminated with sufficient practice. Furthermore, the results confirm the suggestion that the rate of gain of information (the slope constant of the function [CRT = a + bHt]), is an inverse function of the level of S-R compatibility. The rate of gain of information was not found to be constant, but decreases predictably based on the relative compatibility of the S-R ensemble and the amount of practice. Results are discussed in terms of the nature of a task requiring cognitive processes previously assumed irrelevant in the CRT paradigm.