From Serendip

TIME TO THINK? Collected Observations

All observations submitted to Serendip are entered into a database. On this page, you can see the trend of the observations to date with regard to some simple questions and compare those trends to your own observations. To access the complete database, use the entry form below. Original observations (those collected before July 1, 2001 when the database went online) are available here.

Cases in the "Time to Think?" experiment
Case 1	Think	Press the button when you see the black square
Case 2	Think-Act	Press the button when you see a black square but not when you see a white one
Case 3	Read-Think-Act	Do what the instructions say
Case 4	Read-Negate-Think-Act	Do the opposite of what the instructions say

How many observations do we have to date?

As of now, we have %numsubj_Overall% data sets.

Does it take time to act?

The average reaction time (Case 1) is %avg_A% milliseconds.

Does it take additional time to think?
Does more thinking take more time?

As of now,	the average time for Case 2 is	%avg_TA% ms
	the average time for Case 3 is	%avg_RTA% ms
	the average time for Case 4 is	%avg_RNTA% ms

Does some mathematical manipulation help to clarify the answer?

Absolute times, as summarized above, are sensitive to the particular computer being used for observations. One way to try to lessen variability in the data due to variations in computers is, for each set of observations, to divide the times for Cases 2 - 4 by the Case 1 time. This yields the various thinking times as multiples of a baseline acting time.

As of now,	the average ratio of Case 2 to Case 1 is	%ratio_TA%
	the average ratio of Case 3 to Case 1 is	%ratio_RTA%
	the average ratio of Case 4 to Case 1 is	%ratio_RNTA%

Do you think the data are solid enough to draw strong conclusions regarding these questions? What other questions occur to you?

You can use Serendip to develop your own research projects. If you do, we'd enjoy hearing from you about your results and your intepretation of them.