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The validity and consistency of continuous joystick response in perceptual decision-making
,
Aline Bompas,
Petroc Sumner,
Jiaxiang Zhang
Behavior Research Methods, Volume: 52, Issue: 2, Pages: 681 - 693
Swansea University Author:
Jiaxiang Zhang
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Copyright: The Author(s) 2019. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
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DOI (Published version): 10.3758/s13428-019-01269-3
Abstract
A computer joystick is an efficient and cost-effective response device for recording continuous movements in psychological experiments. Movement trajectories and other measures from continuous responses have expanded the insights gained from discrete responses (e.g., button presses) by providing uni...
| Published in: | Behavior Research Methods |
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| ISSN: | 1554-3528 |
| Published: |
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
2020
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| Online Access: |
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa61327 |
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| Abstract: |
A computer joystick is an efficient and cost-effective response device for recording continuous movements in psychological experiments. Movement trajectories and other measures from continuous responses have expanded the insights gained from discrete responses (e.g., button presses) by providing unique information about how cognitive processes unfold over time. However, few studies have evaluated the validity of joystick responses with reference to conventional key presses, and how response modality can affect cognitive processes. Here we systematically compared human participants’ behavioral performance of perceptual decision-making when they responded with either joystick movements or key presses in a four-alternative motion discrimination task. We found evidence that the response modality did not affect raw behavioral measures, including decision accuracy and mean response time, at the group level. Furthermore, to compare the underlying decision processes between the two response modalities, we fitted a drift-diffusion model of decision-making to individual participants’ behavioral data. Bayesian analyses of the model parameters showed no evidence that switching from key presses to continuous joystick movements modulated the decision-making process. These results supported continuous joystick actions as a valid apparatus for continuous movements, although we highlight the need for caution when conducting experiments with continuous movement responses. |
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| Keywords: |
Joystick trajectory; Decision-making; Computational modeling; Behavioral experiments; Drift-diffusion model |
| College: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering |
| Funders: |
M.J.S. was supported by a PhD studentship from Cardiff University School of Psychology. J.Z. was supported by a European Research Council Starting grant (716321). |
| Issue: |
2 |
| Start Page: |
681 |
| End Page: |
693 |