The effects of performance-scoring criteria on compensatory tracking behavior

A compensatory tracking experiment was performed in which a subject received continuous feedback of his performance as measured by a scoring criterion. Several such criteria were investigated, each consisting of a weighted sum of mean-squared error and mean-squared stick movement. The subject changed his tracking behavior to suit the scoring criterion. These changes were manifested primarily as changes in the gain of the subject´s describing function. It appears that a well-trained subject is good at optimizing his behavior to suit a scoring criterion, and that the design and feedback of such scoring criteria should receive greater consideration in tracking experiments.