A Diffusion Model Account of the Lexical Decision Task

The diffusion model for 2-choice decisions ( R. Ratcliff, 1978 ) was applied to data from lexical decision experiments in which word frequency, proportion of high- versus low-frequency words, and type of nonword were manipulated. The model gave a good account of all of the dependent variables-accura...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychological review 2004-01, Vol.111 (1), p.159-182
Main Authors: Ratcliff, Roger, Gomez, Pablo, McKoon, Gail
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Choice Behavior
Cognition
Cognitive psychology
Decision Making
Decision Support Techniques
Decision Theory
Discrimination Learning
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Human
Humans
Language
Language Processing
Lexical Access
Lexical Decision
Male
Miscellaneous
Pattern Recognition, Visual
Problem Solving
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Reaction Time
Reading
Semantics
Word Frequency
Word Recognition
Words (Phonetic Units)
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Summary:The diffusion model for 2-choice decisions ( R. Ratcliff, 1978 ) was applied to data from lexical decision experiments in which word frequency, proportion of high- versus low-frequency words, and type of nonword were manipulated. The model gave a good account of all of the dependent variables-accuracy, correct and error response times, and their distributions-and provided a description of how the component processes involved in the lexical decision task were affected by experimental variables. All of the variables investigated affected the rate at which information was accumulated from the stimuli-called drift rate in the model. The different drift rates observed for the various classes of stimuli can all be explained by a 2-dimensional signal-detection representation of stimulus information. The authors discuss how this representation and the diffusion model's decision process might be integrated with current models of lexical access.
ISSN:0033-295X
1939-1471
DOI:10.1037/0033-295X.111.1.159