A response time theory of separability and integrality in speeded classification
type: Item
instance of: scholarly article
title: A response time theory of separability and integrality in speeded classification
zbMATH Open document ID: 0833.92032
author: F. Gregory Ashby
author: W. Todd Maddox
published in: Journal of Mathematical Psychology
publication date: 1995-01-31T00:00:00Z
review text: A fundamental problem in perception is to determine how different stimulus components combine and interact in perceptual processing. Although a variety of perceptual interactions have been studied, it is especially popular to characterize perceptual dimensions according to whether they are separable or integral. A pair of dimensions are said to be separable if it is easy to attend to one and ignore the other. Consequently, the perception of a value on one dimension is unaffected by variation along the other. Prototypical separable dimensions are hue and shape. On the other hand, with integral dimensions, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to attend to one dimension and ignore the other. Thus, the perception of one dimension is affected when the level of the other is varied. Prototypical integral dimensions are brightness and saturation. A variety of methods for testing between separability and integrality have been suggested, but two of the most popular involve speeded classification tasks in which the subject is told to name the level of one stimulus component. A pair of dimensions are assumed to be separable if response time (RT) is unimproved when the stimulus dimensions are correlated and if no RT interference is found when the dimensions are varied orthogonally. If RT decreases when the dimensions are correlated and an RT interference is found with orthogonal variation, then the dimensions are assumed to be integral. Unfortunately despite their intuitive appeal, these speeded classification tests are operational and have no rigorous theoretical justification. \textit{F. G. Ashby} and \textit{J. T. Townsend} [Psychol. Rev. 93, 154-179 (1986)]\ proposed rigorous theoretical definitions of separability and integrality and they developed several simple methods for testing between the two. One limitation of these recent tests, however, is that they are all stated in terms of response probability and therefore they ignore response time (RT). This article d…
Mathematics Subject Classification ID: 91E30
zbMATH DE Number: 716299
zbMATH Keywords: perception
zbMATH Keywords: perceptual interactions
zbMATH Keywords: separable dimensions
zbMATH Keywords: integral dimensions
zbMATH Keywords: separability
zbMATH Keywords: integrality
zbMATH Keywords: response time
zbMATH Keywords: stimulus dimensions
zbMATH Keywords: speeded classification tests
zbMATH Keywords: general recognition theory
zbMATH Keywords: RT- distance hypothesis
zbMATH Keywords: simulation
MaRDI profile type: Publication
full work available at URL: jmps.1994.1032
OpenAlex ID: W2028722356
DOI: 10.1006/JMPS.1994.1032
description: scientific article; zbMATH DE number 716299