This one has really puzzled me. In human factors we teach that in emergency
situations, the user will revert to the dominant response. Given that
Michael has been using hand brakes (I assume exclusively) for 30 years I
would assume that squeezing the levers would be the dominant response.
Another principle we cover is "natural" responses or stimulus response
compatibility. I remember coming across a discussion of the "natural"
response when an airplane is in a rapid descent which is to pull back. That
translates to designing the stick so that pulling back will increase the
elevation. Pedaling backwards may be the same pulling back response. I
hoped to find the reference to this but still haven't.
Gary
Gary J. Klatsky
Department of Psychology [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Oswego State University (SUNY) http://www.oswego.edu/~klatsky
Oswego, NY 13126 Voice: (315) 341 3474
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On
Behalf Of Todd D. Nelson
Sent: Tuesday, June 29, 1999 5:48 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: social facilitation? unlikely
Michael Quanty asks:
> > Since college in the late 60s I have ridden bikes with hand brakes. Yet
> > today when I was riding on a nature trail near the college, with my hand
> > resting on the brake I was startled by a squirrel and immediately tried
to
> > brake with the pedal. Earlier on the same ride i had slowed
successfully
> > for other squirrels that gave me more warning. My speculation is that
even
> > though all of my recent experience has been using hand brakes, my
> > experience with panic stops were in my wilder youthful days when I had
> > pedal
> > brakes.
> > Is this the same as or similar to state-dependent learning ? Perhaps I
am
> > merely regressing.
> >
> > Michael Quanty
and John Kulig replied:
> I wouldn't say state-dependent. It's probably an example of Zajonc's
(1965)
> (social) facilitation theory. When aroused, simple and well rehearsed and
> dominant responses are more likely. Zajonc's theory meant to explain
_social_
> faciliation: the presence of other people causes facilitation of simple
> responses (making complex tasks harder) but his theory is that the social
> effects as due to simple arousal. Under panic or crisis situations, it is
the
> most rehearsed, and most strongly established responses that pop out. He
also
> demonstrated "social" facilitation in the cockroach - perhaps showing that
> it's a basic feature of our behavior and doesn't require much of a brain.
So,
> the trick is to practice the response you want repeatedly until _it_
becomes
> dominant.
Hi John,
I see your reasoning, however, I wouldn't characterize this as an example
of social facilitation (specifically the dominant response aspect you
describe above). As you rightly point out, Zajonc said that the dominant
response will be the most likely response when one is physiologically
aroused. If the task is easy (or well-learned), the dominant response
is usually the correct response. If the task is difficult (or novel), the
dominant response is likely incorrect. The key to making any response
dominant is practice practice practice, so that it becomes well-learned.
It becomes the "automatic" response in that context.
You suggest that Michael's dominant response is the one he learned as a
child with bicycles that had foot-activated brakes. That is, the dominant
response in a "stop bicycle" context is to kick the foot backward on the
pedal. However, the amount of practice with foot-brake bicycles and with
hand-brake bicycles suggests that the social facilitation explanation for
Michael's reaction (described above in his question) is inadequate.
Consider:
Michael went to college in the late 60's. Let's say that makes his
birthdate around 1950. Let's further assume he started learning to ride
tricycles and bicycles at an early age (say, 3). That gives him 15 years
of experience with foot-activated brakes. Since his college years,
(starting no later than 1969) he has only used hand-activated brakes.
Thus, he has had 30 years experience with this type of brake. Thus, the
dominant response for Michael should be to use his hand brake.
Cheers,
Todd
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* Todd D. Nelson, Ph.D. *
* Assistant Professor of Psychology *
* Department of Psychology *
* California State University *
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