Abstract
The compensatory tracking paradigm has been used extensively in pioneering work on Control Theory, a cybernetic model of behavior. In most studies subjects have been asked to control or maintain at a steady state a single variable or aspect of the stimulus display. The present study utilized three groups of subjects, comparing their performance effectiveness in controlling: (1) a visual stimulus (cursor) versus (2) an auditory stimulus (tone) versus (3) a combined, redundant-cue condition employing both cursor and tone. Freshman volunteers responded to a computer display using a joystick controller; their task was to keep stationary a stimulus that was subject to a smoothed, quasirandom disturbance. Contrary to predictions, subjects in the cursor-alone group performed more effectively than subjects in the combined cursor-tone group. While speculative interpretations are offered, further research is needed to clarify these results.