Effects of modeled auditory information on a sequential timing task

The purposes of the present experiment were to determine (a) whether an auditory model enhanced relative or absolute timing; (b) the extent to which the reduced frequency presentation of the auditory model resulted in enhanced retention, and (c) the degree to which executing the timing sequence was independent of the role of the effecters in carrying out the movement sequence. Participants (N = 45) were asked to alternately press two keys on a computer keyboard in an attempt to match the goal intervals presented on the computer monitor Groups differed in terms of the frequency with which an auditory model (100, 50, or 0%) was presented. The results indicated that the auditory model (100% or 50% groups) enhanced relative timing performance and learning but not the learning of absolute timing: In addition, the 50% group did not appear to become dependent on the auditory model. However, significant decrements in performance were seen for the 100% group when the model was withdrawn. Last, participants were able to execute the timing sequences equally well when they reversed the hand used to execute the timing sequence. This was interpreted as strong evidence for the effector independence (Schmidt, 1975, 1988) and modularity of the timing sequence (Keele, Davidson, & Hayes, 1998).