Factors Governing Performance in a Visual Interception Task

Abstract

Two experiments examined factors governing performance in a dynamic spatial task requiring object interception. In the two experiments, several variables were systematically manipulated, including target trajectory, decision time, and interceptor to target speed ratio. In both experiments a systematic linear relationship between actual response time and decision time was observed. The slope of this function was less than 1, indicating that subjects were less sensitive to variation in actual decision time than an “ideal” observer. Performance patterns further indicated that subjects utilized both speed and distance information to guide their judgements, but failed to adequately incorporate speed information.