Attribute Construction of Individual Differences in the “Speed - Accuracy Compromise” Task Using the Periodograms

Abstract

The research is devoted to finding the attributes that would allow detailing the factors breaking Fitts's law. Fitts's law ties together the distance to a target area with the accuracy and movement time. Frequency analysis of two time rows that depict, respectively, the accuracy and time needed to solve the task, is used. To analyze the results we used the periodogram method. It allows us to evaluate how the period of time, given to a person under test, appears in his solutions of the task. The features of periodicity suppression are interpreted as specific characteristics of people under test. The research deals with the data received from 1023 test takers, each of those solved 120 tasks. It is not only the fact of interrupting the given periodicity revealed in the results, but also a set of typical cases of such interruption is demonstrated from the points of view of two traditionally used variables - accuracy and time - and a new, third, variable, that is the accurate and fast solution mindset. This mindset is given as a special kind of instruction during the test. As a result, the authors revealed that Fitts's law manifestation on the level of periods that subordinate distance changes is distinctive for the majority of test takers. However, the character of periodicity changes easily. For example, it was found out that about a half of examinees demonstrate the periodicity consisting of 30 tasks, this periodicity appears stable both from the points of speed and accuracy, and on the level of dependent variables. At the same time, the periodicity of 10 tasks depends a lot on the speed. A small amount of results characterized by the local absence of periodicity was also found. The authors remark successful application of the attribute construction method, it allows us to describe in detail the character of individual differences manifestation, being short and compact in giving new descriptive attributes at the same time. The ways of improving and perfecting the methods of interactive spatial choice task solving are planned in the long view.