Abstract
Reaction time distributions were obtained from practiced subjects in a go/no-go detection task with attention divided across the visual and auditory modalities. Redundant signals were sometimes presented asynchronously on the two modalities, with the time between signals varying from 0 to 167 msec. An extension of the inequality derived by Miller (1982) was used to test between separate-decisions models, in which the response is initiated solely by whichever signal is detected first, and coactivation models, in which both signals contribute to the activation of a single response. As in previous studies with bimodal detection tasks, the results contradicted separate-decisions models and favored coactivation models. The largest violations of separate-decisions models were observed when the visual signal was presented 67–100 msec before the auditory signal. A new inequality was also derived to discriminate between two classes of coactivation models that differ about whether responses are generated by processes combining activation across time as well as across signals. Violations of this inequality ruled out exponential coactivation models, in which activation processes are sensitive only to the instantaneous properties of the signal(s). Instead, the results require an accumulation model of coactivation, in which both signals provide input to a process that accumulates activation over a considerable period of time, even if signal conditions change during that time.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ashby, F. G. (1982) Testing the assumptions of exponential, additive reaction time modelsMemory & Cognition,10, 125–134.
Ashby, F. G, &Townsend, J. (1980) Decomposing the reaction time distribution: Pure insertion and selective influence revisited.Journal of Mathematical Psychology,21, 93–123.
Audley, R. J. (1973). Some observations on theories of choice reaction time: Tutorial review. In S. Kornblum (Ed.),Attention and performance (Vol. 4; pp. 509–545). New York: Academic Press.
Bernstein, I. H. (1970). Can we see and hear at the same time? Some recent studies of intersensory facilitation of reaction time.Acta Psychologica,33, 21–35.
Blake, R. R., Martens, W., Garrett, A., &Westendorf, D. (1980). Estimating probability summation for binocular reaction time data.Perception & Psychophysics,27, 375–378.
Christie, L., &Luce, R. D. (1956). Decision structure and time relations in simple choice behavior.Bulletin of Mathematical Biophysics,18, 89–112.
Colavita, F. (1974). Human sensory dominance.Perception & Psychophysics,16, 409–412.
Corcoran, D. W. J., &Weening, O. (1969). On the combination of evidence from the eye and ear.Ergonomics,12, 383–394.
Diaconis, P., &Efron, B. (1983). Computer-intensive methods in statistics.Scientific American,248, 116–130.
Efron, B. (1979). Bootstrap methods: Another look at the jackknife.Annals of Statistics,7, 1–26.
Fitts, P. (1964). Perceptual-motor skill learning. In A. Melton (Ed.),Categories of human learning (pp. 243–285). New York: Academic Press.
Gielen, S. C. A. M., Schmidt, R. A., &Van DenHeuvel, P. J M. (1983). On the nature of intersensory facilitation of reaction time.Perception & Psychophysics,34, 161–168.
Green, D. M., &Smith, A. F. (1982). Detection of auditory signals occurring at random times: Intensity and duration.Perception & Psychophysics,31, 117–127.
Grice, G R. (1972). Application of a variable criterion model to auditory reaction time as a function of the type of catch trial.Perception & Psychophysics,12, 103–107.
Grice, G. R., Canham, L., &Boroughs, J. M. (1984). Combination rule for redundant information in reaction time tasks with divided attention.Perception & Psychophysics,35, 451–463.
Hockley, W. E. (1984). Analysis of response time distributions in the study of cognitive processes.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,10, 598–615.
Hohle, R. (1965). Inferred components of reaction times as functions of foreperiod duration.Journal of Experimental Psychology,69, 382–386.
Jung, R., Kornhurer, H., &Dafonseca, J. (1963). Multisensory convergence on cortical neurons: Neuronal effects of visual, acoustic and vestibular stimuli in the superior convolutions of the cat’s cortex. In G. Moruzzi, A. Fessard, & H. Jasper (Eds.),Progress in brain research, Vol. 1: Brain mechanisms. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Kornblum, S. (1969). Sequential determinants of information processing in serial and discrete choice reaction time.Psychological Review,76, 113–131.
Link, S. W. (1975). The relative judgment theory of two choice response time.Journal of Mathematical Psychology,12, 114–135.
Long, J. B. (1976). Effect of task difficulty on the division of attention between nonverbal signals: Independence or interaction?Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,28, 179–192.
Luce, R. D., &Green, D. M. (1970). Detection of auditory signals presented at random times, H.Perception & Psychophysics,7, 1–14.
McGill, W. (1963). Stochastic latency mechanisms. In R. D. Luce, R. Bush, & E. Galanter (Eds.),Handbook of mathematical psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 309–360). New York: Wiley.
Meijers, L., &Eijkman, E. (1977). Distributions of simple RT with single and double stimuli.Perception & Psychophysics,22, 41–48.
Miller, J. O. (1982). Divided attention: Evidence for coactivation with redundant signalsCognitive Psychology,14, 247–279.
Mulligan, R. M., &Shaw, M. L. (1980). Multimodal signal detection: Independent decisions vs. integration.Perception & Psychophysics,28, 471–478.
Nickerson, R. S. (1973). Intersensory facilitation of reaction time: Energy summation or preparation enhancement.Psychological Review,80, 489–509.
Posner, M. I., Nissen, M. J., &Klein, R. (1976). Visual dominance: An information-processing account of its origins and significance.Psychological Review,83, 157–171.
Raab, D. (1962). Statistical facilitation of simple reaction times.Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciences,24, 574–590.
Ratcliff, R. (1978). A theory of memory retrieval.Psychological Review,85, 59–108.
Ratcliff, R., &Murdock, B. (1976). Retrieval processes in recognition memory.Psychological Review,83, 190–214.
Shaw, M. L. (1982). Attending to multiple sources of information: I. The integration of information in decision making.Cognitive Psychology,14, 353–409.
Townsend, J. T., &Ashby, F. G. (1983).The stochastic modeling of elementary psychological processes. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Ulrich, R., &Giray, M. (1986). Separate-activation models with variable base times: Testability and checking of cross-channel dependency.Perception & Psychophysics,39, 248–259.
Vickers, D. (1970). Evidence for an accumulator model of psychophysical discrimination.Ergonomics,13, 37–58.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This research was supported by Grant PHS MH40733 from the National Institute of Mental Health.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Miller, J. Timecourse of coactivation in bimodal divided attention. Perception & Psychophysics 40, 331–343 (1986). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03203025
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03203025