Fingertip Reaction Time Experiment Summary, Essay Example

The nerve endings found in the fingertips of a human are noted to conduct fast-response from the nerve-ends to the brain. In the experimentation to be summarized, testing the difference of reaction between males and female students compared to the male and female teachers of Midwood High School is conducted. Based on environment change, a ruler is dropped between the outstretched fingers of the participants without any considerable warning. The span of time that it took the participants to respond to the change shall be measured and shall be the basis of reaction timing.

With the nervous system divided into two parts [the central nervous system and the spinal cord],  the recognition of the stimulus shall prompt the neurons to relay the situation to the brain while the brain shall motivate the muscle reaction necessary for the situation [in this case, catching the ruler that has been dropped]. In consideration with the result of the experiment, it has been discovered that the male students responded the fastest among all the other participants. With the average reaction time of 0.1778 seconds for male students, the female students were recorded to have a 0.1950 seconds reaction time. The teachers on the other hand had 0.2033 seconds for the males and 0.1878 for the females. In consideration with the literature basis of this experiment, the reason behind such difference of reaction between the subjects have been pointed out to come from the fact that gradual dehydration which is a regular matter between both males and females belonging to the same age-bracket causes women to establish their choices longer than men. This however indicates that although men were faster in reaction, women tended to manage their reaction hence becoming more accurate in their response.

Reference:

Fingertip Reaction Time Experiment. http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2006/reactiontime.shtml. (retrieved on February 6, 2012).