The Effects of Task Coherency, Preview, and Speed-Stress on Timing And Anticipation

Abstract

High levels of skill displayed in perceptual-motor tasks can only be obtained by accurate timing and anticipation. Recent evidence indicates that task characteristics that change or alter the predictability of stimulus events are potent determiners of performance. The effects of stimulus predictability on timing and anticipation were investigated in a series of studies where subjects responded to moving stimuli that entered critical zones on each of three visual displays. Specific task characteristics that changed the predictability of the stimulus sequence and significantly affected performance in the studies included task coherency, preview, speed-, and load-stress.