Abstract
In the present article, it is argued that in addition to the traditional random generation tasks discussed by Towse and Neil (1998), random time interval generation tasks should be considered as useful alternatives, because they allow a better empirical control of the executive task component in dualtask situations. First, a framework for discussing randomness over time is presented. Then, the article goes on to present three methods for the analysis of such tasks. A first method is based on the correlation between the intervals produced. The second method calculates the approximate entropy, and the third method converts the time sequences into binary sequences and estimates the statistical properties of the sequence on the basis of these binary data. A principal components analysis on 19 different measures based on 1,381 sequences produced in a number of single-task and dual-task experiments shows that the proposed measures form two general clusters, one related to output probability, perseveration, and alternation, and one related to sequential commonalities. The article also briefly describes a computer program that implements these methodologies.
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The research reported in this article was supported by the Belgian program on “Interuniversity Poles of Attraction,” Grants P3/31 (1990–1996) and P4/19 (1997–2001) from the Department of Science Policy, and by Grant 3G001297 from the Fund for Scientific Research-Flanders to the author. The scientific responsibility is assumed by the author. I wish to express my gratitude to Marc Brysbaert for his invaluable comments on an earlier draft of this article. I am also indebted to the comments of Stijn De Rammelaere, Peter Killeen, Els Stuyven, John Towse, and Jonathan Vaughan on an earlier version of the manuscript. The executable programs for the MS Windows platform, for the Linux platform, and for a Solaris (Ulstrasparc Solaris 2.7) platform are available from the Web site of the Department of Experimental Psychology of Ghent University (URL: http://allserv.rug.ac.be/~hnaessen/expsy/download.html). The same location also provides examples.
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Vandierendonck, A. Analyzing human random time generation behavior: A methodology and a computer program. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers 32, 555–565 (2000). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03200828
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03200828