Serial Choice Reaction-time as a Function of Response versus Signal-and-Response Repetition
DOI: 10.1038/206217a0
archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified
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Summary
This paper investigates the determinants of serial choice reaction time (RT), specifically aiming to disentangle the effects of signal repetition from response repetition. Previous research established that RTs are shorter when a signal is identical to the immediately preceding one, but in those tasks, signal repetition was confounded with response repetition. Bertelson addresses this by designing an experimental task where multiple signals map to the same response, allowing for the isolation of signal-specific effects. The study employed a self-paced, two-response task using a Nixie numerical indicator. Four male subjects performed 20 runs of 50 responses across four sessions under two conditions. In the control condition (2-5), digits 2 and 5 were presented, requiring left and right key presses respectively, maintaining a one-to-one signal-response mapping. In the experimental condition (24-57), digits 2, 4, 5, and 7 were presented; digits 2 and 4 required a left key press, while 5 and 7 required a right key press. This design created three transition categories: 'identical' (same signal, same response), 'equivalent' (different signal, same response), and 'different' (different signal, different response). Reaction times were recorded to the nearest 25 msec, excluding initial and erroneous responses. The results confirmed the standard repetition effect in the control condition, where identical signals yielded significantly shorter RTs than different signals. In the experimental condition, RTs for both 'identical' and 'equivalent' transitions were significantly shorter than for 'different' transitions, indicating that response repetition is the primary driver of faster reaction times. However, RTs for identical signals were slightly shorter than for equivalent signals. This difference was statistically significant for two of the four subjects, suggesting that signal repetition exerts a minor, independent effect on RT. Additionally, the majority of errors occurred during 'different' transitions, consisting of repeating the previous response when a new one was required. The findings conclude that while the repetition of the response is the dominant factor reducing reaction time in serial choice tasks, the repetition of the signal itself contributes a small, measurable effect. This distinction clarifies the cognitive mechanisms underlying serial choice performance, demonstrating that signal familiarity aids processing speed independently of motor preparation. The study provides empirical evidence that the "repetition effect" is not solely a motor phenomenon but also involves perceptual or cognitive processing of the stimulus identity.
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| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | OpenAlex-citations | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| archive | success | semantic_scholar | — | — | 6 | 2026-06-26 |
| extract | success | pdftotext | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-26 |
| clean | success | clean | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
| chunk | success | chunk | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
| embed | success | embed | Qwen/Qwen3-Embedding-8B | — | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
| enrich | failed | — | — | — | 4 | 2026-06-26 |
| promote | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant | summ-v5 | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
| tag | success | vector_similarity | — | — | 6 | 2026-06-26 |
| verify | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-26; verification: verified.
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