Happy Hopper: A Challenging Game for Training Response Time

Response Time (also known as reaction time) refers to the amount of time that takes place between when we perceive something and when we respond to it. It is the ability to detect, process, and respond to stimuli.

Our ability to appropriately respond to stimuli in a timely and efficient manner depends on many factors. This includes our ability to perceive, process, and respond to the situation at hand.

• Perception: Seeing, hearing, or feeling a stimulus with certainty is essential to having good reaction time. And example is when someone shoots a racing pistol, the runners must react to the sound.
• Processing: In order to have good reaction time, it’s necessary to be focused and understand the information well. For exmpale, those same runners will know the difference between the pistol and the other background noises. It tells them it’s time to start running (process the stimulus).
• Response: Motor agility is necessary in order to be able to act and have good response time. When the runners perceives and correctly processes the signal, they start moving their legs (respond to the stimulus).

Estimation is one of our most important neuropsychological functions, as many of our daily activities depend on our ability to estimate speed, distance, or time. Estimation could be thought of as the mental process that allows predicting an appropriate response based on incomplete knowledge.

Estimation allows us to predict an object’s future location based on its current speed, distance, and time. The brain processes the information from your eyes and determines what to do and how fast to do it.

We also use our estimation ability in perceptive thought processes. Once the brain has decided which information it’s going to process, it evaluates and estimates its distance, speed, etc. In order to accurately process the information you receive and make an estimation, you need to use past experiences as a reference. Using real-life previous situations will help ensure that you make an informed estimation about what might happen.

Inhibition is the ability to control impulsive or automatic responses and create measured responses by using attention and reasoning.

This cognitive ability is one of our Executive Functions and contributes to anticipation, planning, and goal setting. Inhibition, (also known as inhibitory control) blocks behaviors and stops inappropriate automatic reactions. This allows us to replace an undesired, automatic response for a better, more thought-out response that’s adapted to the situation.

Here are some examples…

• If you get bitten by a mosquito, it’s normal to want to scratch. People with good inhibitory control will be able to keep themselves from scratching the bug bite, even though it itches. Poor inhibitory control may make it difficult to resist scratching the itch, causing the bug bite to bleed and scab.
• Imagine you’re having dinner with your family and your brother-in-law (who you don’t like very much) says is being very annoying. You might have a hard time keeping yourself from calling him out or yelling at him. However, if you have good inhibitory control, you’ll be able to control yourself and keep calm. If you have poor inhibitory control, you risk ruining the dinner.
• It’s common to see office situations where employees are automatically doing distrating things. This includes looking at their phone, talking to colleagues, or thinking about non-work things. If an employee has good inhibitory control, they will be more efficient workers.