Year: 2017
Type: article
Abstract: Increasingly, cognitive psychologists are using response dynamics (i.e.tracking participants' movements while making a motor response) as a dependent measure.The purpose of this review is to provide a brief history of this technique, an introduction to its practical use, and some examples of applications relevant to cognitive psychologists.Those seeking greater detail on the technique are referred to articles in bold in the reference list.Perhaps the best known techniques for tracking response dynamics are eye tracking and measures of brain activity (e.g.EEG, MEG) the use of which is well established in cognitive psychology.We focus here on how a simpler, cheaper, and less intrusive technology, the humble computer mouse, can be used to capture the temporal dynamics of cognition.Although other motion tracking methods are available none are as cheap, natural for participants, or readily available as the mouse.Before we look at how to use a mouse to capture movement dynamics, we provide some theoretical justification and examples illustrating that mouse trajectories may be linked to cognitive processes.Early cognitive psychologists focused on the information processing metaphor: the idea that cognition may work like a computer which operates on discrete abstract symbols that have been transduced from static stimuli and outputs a motor response.This framework left little room to consider the interplay between mind and body.Thus motor responses were largely thought to be distinct and separate from the processes with which cognitive psychologists should concern
Source: Explore Bristol Research
Authors: Christopher Kent, Sarah H. Taylor, Niall Taylor, Emily Darley
Institution: University of Bristol
Language: English
Topic: Motor Control and Adaptation
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2625236061