Reaction time analysis of simple mental tasks: A general approach |
| |
| Affiliation: | 1. Crossmodal Research Laboratory, Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University, UK;2. Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany;1. Falls, Balance and Injury Research Center, Neuroscience Research Australia, Australia;2. Cognitive Decline Partnership Centre, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Australia;3. Department of Medicine, Prince of Wales Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia;4. School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Prince of Wales Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia;1. University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia;2. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Englerstr. 14, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany;3. University of Passau, Dr.-Hans-Kapfinger-Str. 12, 94032 Passau, Germany |
| |
| Abstract: | A general model for choice reaction time (RT) is presented which is based on a theory that describes the operational characteristics of a problem solving subject. The model is not a stage model neither in the way envisioned by Donders nor in the sense proposed by Sternberg. Rather, it is based on the assumption that RT is the result of an underlying process that continually switches between two states: a state of processing and a state of non-processing. In the state of processing the subject executes the so-called operations that are needed to solve a problem. However, from time to time the subject enters a state of non-processing. During the latter state, the subject either processes those operations that are not directly related to the execution of the task or uses this time to recover in order to prevent the system from becoming overloaded. It is shown that the model successfully describes the RT data of three different tasks: a simple choice task, a mental addition task and a mental rotation task. The model provides a means to study individual differences not only in cognitive psychology but also in the realm of mental testing. Special attention is given to the problem of parameter estimation and the statistical properties of the estimators. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
