Measuring Reaction Time Flashcards
All 6 cards in this deck
What are the steps to measure reaction time using the ruler drop test?
e.g. the ruler is caught after falling 20 cm
- A partner holds a ruler vertically with the zero mark between your open fingers.
- They drop it without warning; catch it as quickly as you can and read the mark at your fingers: 20 cm.
- Convert the distance to a time using a conversion chart: about 0.2 s.
What is a typical human reaction time?
About 0.2 s to 0.9 s.
In the ruler drop test, what does a greater distance fallen before the ruler is caught tell you?
The person has a longer reaction time.
Name a method of measuring reaction time other than the ruler drop test.
A computer-based test: click the mouse (or press a key) as soon as the screen changes.
Why is a computer reaction-time test better than the ruler drop test?
The computer times the response automatically, so there is no human timing error and it measures to the nearest millisecond.
True or false? Repeating a reaction time test several times and taking a mean makes the result more reliable.
True. Reaction times vary, so a mean of repeats reduces the effect of random variation.