Choice response times as functions of inter-item similarity, anchor level, and stimulus type

Pieron's and Chocholle’s seminal psychophysical work predicts that human response time to information relative to visual contrast and/or sound frequency decreases when contrast intensity or sound frequency increases. The goal of this study is to bring to the fore the ability of individuals to use visual contrast intensity and sound frequency in combination for faster perceptual decisions of relative depth (“nearer”) in planar (2D) object configurations on the basis of physical variations in luminance contrast. Computer controlled images with two abstract patterns of varying contrast intensity, one on the left and one on the right, preceded or not by a pure tone of varying frequency, were shown to healthy young humans in controlled experimental sequences. Their task (two-alternative forced-choice) was to decide as quickly as possible which of two patterns, the left or the right one, in a given image appeared to “stand out as if it were nearer” in terms of apparent (subjective) visual depth. The results show that the combinations of varying relative visual contrast with sounds of varying frequency exploited here produced an additive effect on choice response times in terms of facilitation, where a stronger visual contrast combined with a higher sound frequency produced shorter forced-choice response times. This new effect is predicted by cross-modal audio-visual probability summation.

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Hierarchical diffusion models for two-choice response times.

Psychological Methods ◽

10.1037/a0021765 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 44-62 ◽

Cited By ~ 130

Author(s):

Joachim Vandekerckhove ◽

Francis Tuerlinckx ◽

Michael D. Lee

Keyword(s):

Response Times ◽

Diffusion Models ◽

Choice Response ◽

Hierarchical Diffusion

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Effects of Short-Term Physical Activity Interventions on Simple and Choice Response Times

BioMed Research International ◽

10.1155/2016/5613767 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2016 ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Kevin Norton ◽

Lynda Norton ◽

Nicole Lewis

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Response Time ◽

Human Performance ◽

Response Times ◽

Exercise Program ◽

Rate Of Change ◽

Choice Response ◽

Before And After ◽

Age Range ◽

Active Adults

Objective. Response time (RT) is important for health and human performance and provides insight into cognitive processes. It deteriorates with age, is associated with chronic physical activity (PA), and improves with PA interventions. We investigated associations between the amount and type of PA undertaken and the rate of change in RT for low-active adults across the age range 18–63 yr.Methods. Insufficiently active adults were assigned to either a walking (n=263) or higher-intensity (n=380) exercise program conducted over 40 days. Active controls were also recruited (n=135). Simple response time (SRT) and choice response time (CRT) were measured before and after the intervention and at 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up.Results. SRT and CRT slowed across the age range; however, habitually active participants at baseline had significantly faster CRT (p<0.05). The interventions increased weekly PA with corresponding increases in physical fitness. These changes were mirrored in faster CRT across the study for both intervention groups (p<0.05). No changes were found for SRT.Conclusions. Both PA interventions resulted in improvements in CRT among adults starting from a low activity base. These improvements were relatively rapid and occurred in both interventions despite large differences in exercise volume, type, and intensity. There were no effects on SRT in either intervention.

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Combining Visual Contrast Information with Sound Can Produce Faster Decisions

Information ◽

10.3390/info10110346 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 346 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Birgitta Dresp-Langley ◽

Marie Monfouga

Keyword(s):

Response Times ◽

Luminance Contrast ◽

Forced Choice ◽

Sound Frequency ◽

Choice Response ◽

Relative Depth ◽

Probability Summation ◽

Visual Contrast ◽

Contrast Information ◽

The Right

Pieron’s and Chocholle’s seminal psychophysical work predicts that human response time to information relative to visual contrast and/or sound frequency decreases when contrast intensity or sound frequency increases. The goal of this study is to bring to the forefront the ability of individuals to use visual contrast intensity and sound frequency in combination for faster perceptual decisions of relative depth (“nearer”) in planar (2D) object configurations based on physical variations in luminance contrast. Computer controlled images with two abstract patterns of varying contrast intensity, one on the left and one on the right, preceded or not by a pure tone of varying frequency, were shown to healthy young humans in controlled experimental sequences. Their task (two-alternative, forced-choice) was to decide as quickly as possible which of two patterns, the left or the right one, in a given image appeared to “stand out as if it were nearer” in terms of apparent (subjective) visual depth. The results showed that the combinations of varying relative visual contrast with sounds of varying frequency exploited here produced an additive effect on choice response times in terms of facilitation, where a stronger visual contrast combined with a higher sound frequency produced shorter forced-choice response times. This new effect is predicted by audio-visual probability summation.

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On the Relation Between the (Censored) Shifted Wald and the Wiener Distribution as Measurement Models for Choice Response Times

Applied Psychological Measurement ◽

10.1177/0146621617710465 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 42 (2) ◽

pp. 116-135 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Robert Miller ◽

Stefan Scherbaum ◽

Daniel W. Heck ◽

Thomas Goschke ◽

Sören Enge

Keyword(s):

Response Times ◽

Measurement Tool ◽

Parameter Estimates ◽

Choice Response ◽

Diffusion Modeling ◽

Measurement Models ◽

Diffusion Parameters ◽

Parametric Survival ◽

Omission Errors ◽

Parametric Survival Analysis

Inferring processes or constructs from performance data is a major hallmark of cognitive psychometrics. Particularly, diffusion modeling of response times (RTs) from correct and erroneous responses using the Wiener distribution has become a popular measurement tool because it provides a set of psychologically interpretable parameters. However, an important precondition to identify all of these parameters is a sufficient number of RTs from erroneous responses. In the present article, we show by simulation that the parameters of the Wiener distribution can be recovered from tasks yielding very high or even perfect response accuracies using the shifted Wald distribution. Specifically, we argue that error RTs can be modeled as correct RTs that have undergone censoring by using techniques from parametric survival analysis. We illustrate our reasoning by fitting the Wiener and (censored) shifted Wald distribution to RTs from six participants who completed a Go/No-go task. In accordance with our simulations, diffusion modeling using the Wiener and the shifted Wald distribution yielded identical parameter estimates when the number of erroneous responses was predicted to be low. Moreover, the modeling of error RTs as censored correct RTs substantially improved the recovery of these diffusion parameters when premature trial timeout was introduced to increase the number of omission errors. Thus, the censored shifted Wald distribution provides a suitable means for diffusion modeling in situations when the Wiener distribution cannot be fitted without parametric constraints.

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