Reminiscence in Pursuit Rotor Reaction Time

Abstract

The experiment reported was designed to test the effects of rotation of the stimulus source and distribution of practice on reaction time. Four groups of 10 Ss practiced a reaction time task under the following conditions: massed practice with a rotating stimulus, massed practice with a stationary stimulus, distributed practice with a rotating stimulus, and distributed practice with a stationary stimulus. Eight minutes of practice were followed by a 5-min. rest and a further 2-min. practice. It was found that with massed practice and a rotating stimulus mean RT increases as a function of the amount of practice and drops sharply over rest. The results were interpreted as an instance of reminiscence, and inferences from the study concerning the nature and locus of the causes of D_wt were discussed.

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