Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn. 2011 Jan;37(1):1-27. doi: 10.1037/a0021330.
A recent resurgence in logical-rule theories of categorization has motivated the development of a class of models that predict not only choice probabilities but also categorization response times (RTs; Fifić, Little, & Nosofsky, 2010). The new models combine mental-architecture and random-walk approaches within an integrated framework and predict detailed RT-distribution data at the level of individual participants and individual stimuli. To date, however, tests of the models have been limited to validation tests in which participants were provided with explicit instructions to adopt particular processing strategies for implementing the rules. In the present research, we test conditions in which categories are learned via induction over training exemplars and in which participants are free to adopt whatever classification strategy they choose. In addition, we explore how variations in stimulus formats, involving either spatially separated or overlapping dimensions, influence processing modes in rule-based classification tasks. In conditions involving spatially separated dimensions, strong evidence is obtained for application of logical-rule strategies operating in a serial-self-terminating processing mode. In conditions involving spatially overlapping dimensions, preliminary evidence is obtained that a mixture of serial and parallel processing underlies the application of rule-based classification strategies. The logical-rule models fare considerably better than major extant alternative models in accounting for the categorization RTs.
最近逻辑规则理论在范畴化方面的复兴促使人们开发了一类模型，这些模型不仅可以预测选择概率，还可以预测范畴化反应时间（RT；Fifić、Little 和 Nosofsky，2010）。新模型将心理结构和随机游走方法结合在一个集成框架中，并预测了个体参与者和个体刺激水平的详细 RT 分布数据。然而，到目前为止，这些模型的测试仅限于验证性测试，在这些测试中，参与者被明确要求采用特定的处理策略来实施规则。在本研究中，我们测试了通过训练范例归纳来学习类别以及参与者可以自由采用他们选择的任何分类策略的条件。此外，我们还探讨了刺激格式的变化如何影响基于规则的分类任务中的处理模式，涉及空间分离或重叠的维度。在涉及空间分离维度的条件下，有强有力的证据表明，逻辑规则策略在串行自终止处理模式下得到了应用。在涉及空间重叠维度的条件下，初步证据表明，基于规则的分类策略的应用是基于串行和并行处理的混合。逻辑规则模型在解释分类 RT 方面比现有的主要替代模型表现要好得多。
