The rules
How to play the reaction lights game
One pad lights up.
Then the next one comes on. Only the lit pad counts.
Your total time appears after the last hit.
What is a choice reaction time test?
It measures how fast you respond when the signal can be one of several, here a lit pad among 7, instead of a single known signal. In Pulse this is the Batak mode, a name used only for that mode.
It is harder than a simple reaction test because every light is a choice. Hick’s law, one of the few widely acknowledged laws in psychology, relates choice reaction time to the number of stimulus-response alternatives (Proctor & Schneider, 2018). It is not the whole story: when any of several targets will do and you pick the easiest, having more options does not increase the time to move to an adequate target (Brenner & Smeets, 2022).
How fast is a choice reaction time?
Choice reaction time also rises with age, by about 2.80 ms per year in that study (Woods et al., 2015 (choice)). The two tasks differ, so read the numbers side by side, not as “choice adds X ms”. Pulse’s limits are game rules, not norms, and a lights wall is not that lab task.
≤ 3.20 s (0.40 s a light)
Pulse game rule≤ 7.20 s (0.90 s a light)
Pulse game rule217.9 ms
Woods et al., 2015, simple RT472 ms
Woods et al., 2015 (choice), Table 2550 ms
Woods et al., 2015 (choice), Table 2Woods et al. used two different tasks in the same lab, with two-response choice. A tap on a lit pad is not a lab key press, so use the numbers as context only.
Can you get faster at a reflex light game online?
Partly: action video game players responded about 11% faster than non-players on speeded choice tasks, with the same accuracy (Dye et al., 2009). Practical tips:
Not at the pad you just hit.
Only the lit pad counts, so do not guess ahead.
In the simple reaction time test there is no choice to make; the gap between both scores is your choice cost.
FAQ
What is a choice reaction time test?
It measures how fast you respond when the signal can be one of several, here a lit pad among 7 (8 lights in a row), instead of a single known signal. It is slower than simple reaction time: in Woods et al. (2015) adults aged 18-24 averaged 472 ms on a two-response task, against 217.9 ms for simple reaction time in the same lab’s other study (Woods et al., 2015 (choice)).
Do more choices make you slower?
In classic tasks yes: Hick’s law says choice reaction time grows with the number of alternatives (Proctor & Schneider, 2018). But when any of several targets will do and you pick the easiest, extra options need not cost time (Brenner & Smeets, 2022).
Is this the Batak board?
No. Batak is the name of a mode inside the Pulse app; the commercial Batak lights wall is a different product.
Can practice make me faster?
Action video game players responded about 11% faster than non-players on speeded choice tasks with equal accuracy (Dye et al., 2009).