A two-state model of simple reaction time
A two-state model of simple reaction time
A two-state model of simple reaction time
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A. The Power Law.<br />
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Many authors adopted power functions as psychophysical functions,<br />
which relate subjective <strong>time</strong> to physical one. Ekman(1958)<br />
proposed the <strong>model</strong>, which determined the exponent by the method<br />
<strong>of</strong> fractionation. In the method <strong>of</strong> fractionation, the subject is<br />
instructed to adjust a variable stimulus so that it appears<br />
subjectively equal to a certain fraction <strong>of</strong> the standard, usually<br />
half the standard. Ekman(1958) set the power function as<br />
eq.(3-1),<br />
(3-1)<br />
where R (or S) is a subjective (or physical) scale <strong>of</strong> <strong>time</strong>, C is<br />
a constant related to the unit <strong>of</strong> measurement <strong>of</strong> R, So is a kind<br />
<strong>of</strong> absolute threshold, and n is the exponent determining the<br />
curvature <strong>of</strong> the function.<br />
When the subject adjusts the variable stimulus to a value,<br />
S , which, subjectively, is p <strong>time</strong>s that <strong>of</strong> the subjective value<br />
p<br />
<strong>of</strong> the standard, S,<br />
(3-2)