Simon J R, Craft J L
Mem Cognit. 1989 Jul;17(4):503-8. doi: 10.3758/bf03202624.
In this study, we examined the effect of prediction accuracy on reaction time (RT). Subjects performed on three blocks of choice RT trials, all of which involved the mapping of four stimuli (red, green, 1, or 0) onto two response keys. The subjects were told that the four stimuli were equally probable and that their task was to respond to each stimulus onset by pressing the correct key. In one block (stimulus-prediction), the subjects predicted, prior to each trial, the precise stimulus that would appear. In a second block (category-prediction), the subjects predicted the category of the stimulus (i.e., color or digit) that would appear. In a third block (no-prediction), the subjects simply responded to each stimulus without making a prior prediction. In the stimulus-prediction block, RT was faster for correct predictions than for incorrect predictions. In addition, RT was faster on trials in which an incorrect prediction involved the correct category than on trials in which it involved the incorrect category: that is, a "half-wrong" prediction was better than an "all-wrong" prediction. In the category-prediction block, RT was faster when the stimulus category was predicted correctly than when it was not. There was little evidence of a response-facilitation contribution to the correct-prediction effect. These results permit inferences concerning the encoding and organization of information in memory.
在本研究中，我们考察了预测准确性对反应时间（RT）的影响。受试者进行了三个选择反应时试验组块，所有试验均涉及将四种刺激（红色、绿色、1或0）映射到两个反应键上。受试者被告知这四种刺激出现的概率相等，他们的任务是在每次刺激出现时按下正确的键做出反应。在一个组块（刺激预测组块）中，受试者在每次试验前预测即将出现的精确刺激。在第二个组块（类别预测组块）中，受试者预测即将出现的刺激的类别（即颜色或数字）。在第三个组块（无预测组块）中，受试者只是对每个刺激做出反应而不进行预先预测。在刺激预测组块中，正确预测的反应时比错误预测的反应时更快。此外，在错误预测涉及正确类别的试验中，反应时比错误预测涉及错误类别的试验更快：也就是说，“半错”预测比“全错”预测更好。在类别预测组块中，正确预测刺激类别时的反应时比未正确预测时更快。几乎没有证据表明反应促进对正确预测效应有贡献。这些结果有助于推断记忆中信息的编码和组织情况。
