Still and MacMillan (1977) suggested the negative of the Phi coefficient (− φ) as a measure of free-trial spontaneous alternation. This new index is compared with the Adjusted Alternation Ratio (AAR), previously developed by Manning (1973b). It is concluded that there are many situations in which the AAR is a more useful measure. Other issues in assessing spontaneous alternation noted by Still and MacMillan are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
DemberW. N.FowlerH. F. (1958). Spontaneous alternation behavior. Psychological Bulletin55, 412–28.
2.
DouglasR. J. (1966). Cues for spontaneous alternation. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology62, 171–83.
3.
DouglasR. J.IsaacsonR. L. (1965). Homogeneity of single trial response tendencies and spontaneous alternation in the T-maze. Psychological Report16, 87–92.
4.
GuilfordJ. P.FruchterB. (1973). Fundamental Statistics in Psychology and EducationNew York: McGraw-Hill.
5.
ManningS. K. (1973a). A design comparing free- and forced-trial alternation in the rat at two interchoice intervals. Behavior Research Methods and Instrumentation5, 263–5.
6.
ManningS. K. (1973b). A measure of spontaneous alternation. Behavior Research Methods and Instrumentation5, 501–2.
7.
ManningS. K.ArtmanJ. A. (1973). New procedure to test some factors in human spontaneous alternation. Journal of Experimental Psychology97, 274–7.
8.
StillA. W.MacmillanA. S. (1977). Response bias and the measurement of choice alternation. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology29, 319–25.
