The Interference Effects Of Moving Distractors And Attention Control On Hand Movements

The response activation model(Welsh & Elliot,2004a)indicates that the activation of the distraction stimuli response code causes the distraction stimuli response features to merge into the initial response,resulting in a deviation in the motion trajectory.However,according to the existing research results,the scope of application of the response activation model still has certain limitations.This study explored the applicability of the response activation model in multiple contexts through five experiments.Experiment 1 employs selective reaching task to investigate the interference effects of moving distractors and attention control on hand movements.It is found that compared with absence of distraction,distractors result in longer movement time and bigger movement trajectory deviation.In addition,distractors moving horizontally exert the greatest interference effect on selective reaching tasks.Compared with the low attention control group,the high attention control group uses shorter time on movement and the trajectory deviation is smaller.Experiment 2 adopts non-selective reaching task to investigate the interference effects of moving distractors and attention control on hand movements.The results show that the movement takes longer time and the movement trajectory deviation becomes bigger only when distractors move horizontally.However,no matter in the high attention control group or the low attention control group,the interference effects of distractors on movement in non-selective reaching tasks only exist in the first half of the movement.In the second half of the movement,distractors show no interference effect on the movement.Experiment 3 uses single arm aiming task to examine the interference effects of moving distractors and attention control on single arm aiming task and the operational performance.The results show that the distractor does not interfere with the duration of single arm aiming task.However,in both high attention control group and low attention control group,the distractor has adverse effects on the deviation angle of aiming movement trajectory and the operational performance.Experiment 4 employs arms aiming task to investigate the interference effect of moving distractors and attention control on arms aiming task and the operational performance.The results show that there is no difference in time lengths of shooting between high attention control group and low attention control group.In addition,the presence of distractor does not cause the increase of movement time,but leads to bigger trajectory deviation of hand movement,which results in shooting results decline.Experiment 5 adopts meditation training to improve the ability of individual attention control,thereby weakening the interference effect of distractors on individual's shooting tasks and operational performance.It is found that although meditation training improves individuals' attention control ability and reduces the interference effect of moving distractors on the duration of movement and the deviation of trajectory,it fails to improve the shooting performance of participants.In summary,the findings of this study can be summarized as follows: firstly,the response activation model can predict the disturbing effects of distracting stimuli on hand movements in a variety of contexts.Secondly,horizontal distraction stimulation exerts much greater effect on hand movements than vertical distraction stimulation does.Thirdly,compared with the group with lower attention control,the group with intensive attention control performed better in both reaching tasks and aiming tasks.Fourthly,meditation training plays a role in enhancing the individual's attention control and improving the individual's ability to resist distractive stimulation.The theoretical significance of this study is that it examined the applicability of the response activation model in multiple contexts.The practical significance mainly lies in providing new solutions for the selection of sports talents,the improvement of sports performance and the psychological training methods of athletes.