Mechanisms of correction in a "hit the target" task experiment.

The ability of men to change their behaviors depending on previous errors is studied. It is found that in a task involving pressing of a key simultaneously with the second of two consecutive light signals with a constant intersimulus interval (800 ms), the subjects altered their responses alteration depending on the preceding error. Using the same task but with variable intersignal interval (750, 800 and 850 ms) and provided the subjects did not understand that in fact three different intervals were presented to them, it was found that the same corrections were made as in the task with constant interval. The different subjects accepted the task differently and therefore their mean response times and the slope of the regression line are different.