Cognitive Foreperiod

  • Time before stimulus
  • Prepare to act

Constant FP

  • No uncertainty
  • Up to ~150ms : RT decrease, then increase
  • People prepare if warning - faster
  • if longer intervals
    • avg response time increases
    • Temporal estimates get noiser : Temporal Uncertainty
      • not really prepared
  • Faster if less time to prepare

Variable FP

  • Faster if more time to prepare
  • Asymptotic decrease : plateau
  • Try your best based on exp to be prepared
    • But stay prepared if you already are
  • “Strategic” : aim to be prepared as late
    • Why? Dunno. Maybe energy conservation

Distribution Effects

  • Uniform
  • Exponential
    • Many shorts
  • Anti Exponential
    • Many long
  • Prep strategy altered based on which type of distribution

Sequential Effects

  • Prep dependent on previous trials
    • If prev short, present longer : RTs are slow
  • Traces of gradually forgetting previous trials
    • in the shape of prep effects
  • Cannot just be accounted for by n-1 trials

Transfer Effects

  • Start with uniform - then something else - then uniform again
  • Long lasting effects
  • Even if participants were informed that things changed
  • Even a week later

Motivation Determined by