Abstract
This paper contains a short review of the main results that were obtained by the author in a series of experiments that constituted a study of the effects of signal probability on choice reaction time. The effects of stimulus probability are shown to be influenced by the following variables: (1) differences in the method of varying stimulus probability, (2) differences in task complexity, (3) differences in S-R code, and (4) differences in Ss’ motivation. The data that are considered here are the overall mean RT for particular signals and the mean RT for sequential repetitions. Two questions, related to the psychological “nature” of the probability effects in choice RT are discussed: (1) The question of the relationship between the relative frequency and the number of alternatives as two different ways of determining the probability effect in choice RT; and (2) the question of identifying the main determinants of the trial-to-trial variability of RT in such experiments.
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I would like to express my deep gratitude to Professor A. N. Leontjev, on whose initiative this series of researches was started several years ago, and under whose direct guidance the first of the studies described here was performed. I am also especially indebted to Sylvan Kornblum for his detailed comments on several previous drafts of this paper.
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Krinchik, E. Probability effects in choice reaction time tasks. Perception & Psychophysics 15, 131–144 (1974). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03205841
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03205841