Fitts' Law Task

Motor Duration: ~8 minutes
Fitts' Law Task screenshot

Description

Classic motor control task measuring the speed-accuracy tradeoff in rapid aimed movements. Tests the relationship between movement time, distance, and target size, following Fitts' Law (MT = a + b*log2(2D/W)).

About This Test

Participants rapidly move the mouse cursor from a home position to rectangular targets of varying sizes and distances. Each trial begins at the home position on the left side of the screen. When ready, participants move to the target rectangle as quickly as possible. Movement time and accuracy are recorded for each trial.

Test Details

Test ID:
fitts
Main File:
fitts.pbl
Parameters:
16 configurable parameters
Languages:
English

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Scientific Background

Original Task References:

These references describe the original task that this PEBL implementation is based on.

  • Fitts, P. M. (1954). The information capacity of the human motor system in controlling the amplitude of movement. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 47(6), 381-391.
  • MacKenzie, I. S. (1992). Fitts' law as a research and design tool in human-computer interaction. Human-Computer Interaction, 7(1), 91-139.

Data Output

Creates two CSV files: trial-level summary (fitts-<subnum>.csv) with movement times and target parameters, and detailed movement log (fittspoints-<subnum>.csv) with continuous cursor position data.

About This Test

Classic motor control task measuring the speed-accuracy tradeoff in rapid aimed movements. Tests the relationship between movement time, distance, and target size, following Fitts' Law (MT = a + b*log2(2D/W)).

Category: Motor
Estimated Duration: 8 minutes
Available Translations: 1 language

Documentation Sources:
Test description file, Test implementation, Parameter schema

Documentation Status: Standard