The validity and consistency of continuous joystick response in perceptual decision-making.

Abstract

A computer joystick is an efficient and cost-effective response device for recording continuous movements in psychological experiments. Movement trajectories and other measures from continuous responses have expanded the insights gained from discrete responses (e.g. button presses) by providing unique information on how cognitive processes unfold over time. However, few studies have evaluated the validity of joystick responses with reference to conventional key presses, and response modality can affect cognitive processes. Here, we systematically compared human participants behavioural performance of perceptual decision-making when they responded with either joystick movements or key presses in a four-alternative motion discrimination task. We found evidence that the response modality did not affect raw behavioural measures including decision accuracy and mean reaction time (RT) at the group level. Furthermore, to compare the underlying decision processes between the two response modalities, we fitted a drift-diffusion model of decision-making to individual participants behavioural data. Bayesian analyses of the model parameters showed no evidence that switching from key presses to continuous joystick movements modulated the decision-making process. These results supported continuous joystick actions as a valid apparatus for continuous movements, although we highlighted the need for caution when conducting experiments with continuous movement responses.