On the linear relation between the mean and the standard deviation of a response time distribution
On the linear relation between the mean and the standard deviation of a response time distribution
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DOI：
10.1037/0033-295x.114.3.830
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发表时间：
2007-07-01
影响因子：
5.4
通讯作者：
Brown, Scott
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Wagenmakers, Eric-Jan;Brown, Scott
虽然人们普遍认为响应时间（RT）分布的扩展随平均值的增加而增加，但这种关系的确切性质仍然相对未被探索。作者表明，在几个描述RT分布，标准差线性增加的平均值。来自不同实验范式的广泛任务的结果支持RT平均值和RT标准差之间的线性关系。两条河拉特克利夫（1978）的扩散模型和G. D. Logan（1988）的自动化实例理论为这种线性关系提供了解释。作者确定并讨论了线性定律成立的3个具体边界条件。该法律约束RT模型，并支持使用变异系数（a）比较变异性，同时控制基线处理速度的差异和（B）评估是否与实践中的性能变化是由于定量加速或定性重组。
Although it is generally accepted that the spread of a response time (RT) distribution increases with the mean, the precise nature of this relation remains relatively unexplored. The authors show that in several descriptive RT distributions, the standard deviation increases linearly with the mean. Results from a wide range of tasks from different experimental paradigms support a linear relation between RT mean and RT standard deviation. Both R. Ratcliff's (1978) diffusion model and G. D. Logan's (1988) instance theory of automatization provide explanations for this linear relation. The authors identify and discuss 3 specific boundary conditions for the linear law to hold. The law constrains RT models and supports the use of the coefficient of variation to (a) compare variability while controlling for differences in baseline speed of processing and (b) assess whether changes in performance with practice are due to quantitative speedup or qualitative reorganization.