Abstract
In a two-stimulus, two-response choice reaction time (RT) experiment, the probability of a correct stimulus prediction was controlled: the probability (P) was.70 or.30 for 400 trials or P was.70 or.30 for 200 trials and 1 — P for the remaining 200 trials. The difference between RT to correctly predicted stimuli and RT to incorrectly predicted stimuli was greater when P was.70 than when it was.30. When P shifted from.30 to.70, the effect of prediction outcome increased; the effect of prediction outcome decreased when P shifted from.70 to.30. Implications for learning in the development of expectancies for predicting correctly are discussed.
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This research was partially supported by the Small Grants Program of the College of Arts and Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
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Whitman, C.P., Geller, E.S. Manipulation and reversal of the probability of a correct stimulus prediction in a choice reaction task. Psychon Sci 29, 339–341 (1972). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03336594
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03336594