Abstract
From 2 to 23 capital As, Bs, and Cs were positioned randomly over visual displays varying in sizefrom5 to 10deg square and in luminance from7 to 250cd/m2, The task was to decide whether all letters were the same or one was different from the rest. Instructions stressed accuracy, and responses were 97% correct. Three experiments with 50 observers varied amount of practice, number of letters (N), and size and luminance of the display. All experiments produced a linear invariance between mean “same”\((\bar S)\) and mean “different”\((\bar D)\) response times in seconds with N as the parameter:\(\bar D\) ≅\(\bar S\)/2+4. The data are consistent with Krueger’s same-different decision theory, and with the separation of acquisition from decision processes.
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This research was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Grant AO 108 to the author.
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Donderi, D.C. Acquisition and decision in visual same-different search of letter displays. Perception & Psychophysics 33, 271–282 (1983). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03202865
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03202865