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What to Do What It's About What To Notice What Works Best |
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When you press any one of the buttons on the panel above you will see a set of figures (circles and squares of varying size) occurring at different positions on the screen. If you press "Fast" the figures come and go so rapidly that you should only be able to see that they are different size circles and squares. If you press "Medium" the figures come and go at a moderate rate; they should appear to move clockwise and counterclockwise around the screen. If you press "Slow" the figures come and go slowly enough so that you should be able to see that they occur in order of size: small, medium, large and large, medium, small.
If you select the "Fast" button, try to keep the circles rather than the squares appearing. You do this by pressing the mouse button (while the cursor is not on a button) to change from circles to squares or vice versa. If you can keep the circles on the screen you can control the occurrence of a configuration perception, keeping it at "circle".
If you select the "Medium" button try to keep the figures moving in a clockwise rather than a counterclockwise direction. Again, you do this by pressing the mouse button to change the direction of movement. If you can keep the figures moving in a clockwise direction, you can control the occurrence of a transition perception, keeping it at "clockwise".
If you select the "Slow" button try to keep the figures occurring in "small, medium, large" rather than "large, medium, small" order, by pressing the mouse button to change the order of occurrence of the figures. If you can keep the figures occurring in a small to large order, you can control the occurrence of a sequence perception, keeping it at "small, medium, large" .
When you have completed a control session (which takes from 30 to 60 seconds depending on the speed selected) you will see a graph (explained below) and a report of your results in terms of % On "Perception" where the "Perception" is either the configuration, transition or sequence you were controlling. The latter is a measure of the percent of a control session during which the "correct" perception ("circles", "clockwise movement" or "small, medium, large") was occurring. For example, if you were trying to control a configuration perception (keeping it at "circles") then your control was good if % On Configuration was greater than 80%.
People perceive and control many different types of perceptions at the same time. Some of these perceptions are simple, like the perception of the loudness of sounds coming from the radio. Others are very complex, like the perception of the fact that the sounds coming from the radio are a Mozart Piano Concerto. Complex perceptions (like the Piano Concerto) are made up of simple perceptions (like the loudness of the notes); we perceive and control a hierarchy of perceptions.
Under normal circumstances we experience (and control) perceptions at all levels of the perceptual hierarchy, simple and complex, simultaneously. This demonstration shows one way to peel back the layers of this hierarchy by varying the speed of the sensory components from which perceptions are constructed. When sensory components occur quickly your brain only has time to construct simple perceptions (like configurations) which are the building blocks of the more complex perceptions (like transitions and sequences).
The sensory components of the perceptions in this demonstration are the figures that appear at different locations on the screen. When the speed of these sensory components is "Fast" (about 40 frames/sec, depending somewhat on the speed of your computer) you can perceive (and control) the shape of the figures (circle, square) but you cannot see the temporal transition from one figure to another than gives rise to the perception of movement. The transition is physically present in the display but your brain doesn't have time to construct a perception of it. Because you cannot perceive movement when the speed of the sensory components is "Fast" you also cannot control movement (the perception of transition).
When the speed of the sensory components is "Medium" (about 10 frames/sec) you can clearly perceive (and control) the movement of the figures but you cannot see the sequential order in which the figures occur ("small, medium and large" or vice versa). The size sequence is, again, physically present but your brain doesn't have time to construct a perception of it. Because you cannot perceive sequence when the speed of the sensory components is "Medium" you also cannot control it.
When the speed of the sensory components is "Slow" (about 2 frames/sec) you can clearly perceive (and control) the sequence of figure size (keeping this sequence at "small, medium and large"). Indeed, at this slow speed all three perceptual dimensions of the sensory components are visible. You could, if you wished, control the configuration, transition or sequence of the figures.
Your ability to control something depends on your ability to perceive it. If you try to control for clockwise movement when the speed of the sensory components is "Fast" you will find that your control of this transition perception is near chance (50%). Similarly, if you try to control for the "small, medium, large" sequence when the speed of the sensory components is "Medium" you will find that your control of this sequence perception is near chance (50%). Notice, in particular, that even though you are able to see every component of the sequence (the small, medium and large figures) and that these components occur one after the other you still cannot see the order in which these components. When the speed of the components is "Medium" you can see two types of perceptions (configuration and transition) but you can't see the perception that depends on these lower level perceptions: the perception of sequence.
The graph of the results of each test session show how quickly you responded (by pressing the mouse button) to a change in the state of the controlled perception. This change often called a "stimulus" by psychologists and the time from the start of the stimulus change until you press the button is called "reaction time". If you count the number of points from the beginning of a stimulus interval (black points) until the start of the response (gray points) you can get an approximate measure of your reaction time (based on the number of msec/point indicated at the bottom of the graph).
You should find that your reaction time differs slightly depending on the type of perception you are controlling. When you are controlling the configuration (circles) your reaction time should be about 400 to 500 msec (1/2 second). When you are controlling the transition (clockwise movement) your reaction time should be slightly longer (about 500 to 600 msec) and when you are controlling the sequence )small, medium, large) your reaction time should be longer still (about 800 to 1000 msec). These increasing reaction times presumably reflect the increasing transport lag that exists in control loops that go through higher levels of the control hierarchy. Transport lag is a measure of the time it takes to make one trip around a control loop. It makes sense to think that it takes less time to make one trip around a loop that goes through a low level of the control hierarchy (the level that controls configurations) and more time to make one trip around a loop that goes through a high level of the hierarchy (the level that controls sequences).
As with all control tasks, the results of this demonstration are clearest when you are able to skillfully control each perception. It is, therefore, worth it to practice controlling each perception for two or three sessions before looking your the results. It is particularly difficult to control the sequence perception. It may take you several sessions before you can skillfully control the size sequence (keeping it at "small, medium, large") at the speed used in this demonstration.