[From Bruce Nevin (990711.1323 EDT)]
Rick Marken (990710.1940)--
[Was Re: Catechism]
Sounds like a good experiment to me. If it's feasible, and someone writes
the software, I volunteer as a participant in such a distributed experiment.
I wonder if we should also check for input of visual perceptions of one's
own outputs, and the hypothesis that memory is to some degree a function of
attention. The participant could divide attention between the tracking task
and the hand movements. To identify the effect (if any) of the
participant's visual perception of their own hand/mouse movements:
o In some trials, tell the participant ahead of time whether
it is the cursor movements or the mouse movements that they
will have to reproduce; in others, don't tell them.
o Since the participant will expect a 50% chance of having to
reproduce mouse movements, in some trials, place a screen
to block the participant's visual perception of the mouse;
in other runs, don't.
This could even be done with distributed software, following Bill's
suggestion. The software would give advance notice of the reproduction task
in some trials, not in others, and the solitary participant could follow
instructions to construct a screen, then to place or remove it. (Screen
could be a small umbrella, a pillowcase, an up-ended cardboard box with an
armhole, ...)
This does nothing about kinesthetic proprioception, but that's probably not
a matter for contention if we demonstrate that reproduction of output
movements is poor even with visual memory, and that the benefit of visual
perception is slight or null.
Bruce Nevin