Subjects were required to respond to the visual presentation of numerals by uttering syllables closely resembling the names of the numerals. Information in stimulus ensembles was varied by manipulating the number of alternative stimulus configurations that could appear, the relative frequencies of stimuli within an ensemble and the probability of a response being required. An increasing linear function was a good first approximation to the relation between reaction time and information transmission. Systematic deviations from this function were found and an attempt is made to explain them by introducing an intervening variable, “effective probability.”
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AdamsE. W. (1960). Survey of Bernoullian Utility Theory. In: SolomonH. (Ed.), Mathematical Thinking in the Measurement of Behavior. Glencoe, Illinois.
2.
CrossmanE. R. F. W. (1953). Entropy and choice time: The effect of frequency unbalance on choice response. Quart. J. exp. Psychol.5, 41–51.
3.
DavisR.MorayN.TreismanA. (1961). Imitative responses and the rate of gain of information. Quart. J. exp. Psychol.13, 78–89.
4.
HickW. E. (1952). On the rate of gain of information. Quart. J. exp. Psychol.4, 11–26.
5.
HymanR. (1953). Stimulus information as a determinant of reaction time. J. exp. Psychol45, 188–96.
6.
LeonardJ. (1959). Tactual choice reactions: I. Quart. J. exp. Psychol.11, 76–83.
7.
LuceR. D.1960. Response latencies and probabilities. In: ArrowK. J.KarlinS.SuppesP. (Eds.) Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences, Proceedings of the First Stanford SymposiumStanford University Press.
8.
MowbrayG. H. (1960). Choice reaction times for skilled responses. Quart. J. exp. Psychol.12, 193–202.
9.
MowbrayG. H.RhoadesM. V. (1959). On the reduction of choice reaction times with practice. Quart. J. exp. Psychol.11, 16–23.
10.
RapaportA. (1959). A study of disjunctive reaction times. Behav. Sci.4, 299–315.
11.
SeibelR. (1959). Discrimination reaction time as a function of the number of alternatives and of the particular stimulus-response patterns. Amer. Psychol.14, 396.
12.
SuciG. J.DavidoffM. D.SurwilloW. W. (1960). Reaction time as a function of stimulus information and age. J. exp. Psychol.60, 242–4.
