Abstract
Three experiments examined the processing capacity required to use sequential information in a serial reaction time task with partially predictable sequences. The first two experiments varied the response stimulus interval (RSI) between 0 and 500 msec and found the relative advantage of the high-probability stimulus to be independent of the length of the RSI. The third experiment compared utilization of sequential information either with or without a secondary task. The secondary task did not affect the high-probability stimulus but did increase the amount of time required to respond to the low-probability events. The results are discussed in terms of the attentional demands of memory access.
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This research was supported by the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the Department of Defense, monitored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under Contract F44620-67-C-0009 and National Science Foundation Grant GB 21020. Portions of the paper were presented at the meetings of the Western Psychological Association, Portland, Oregon, 1972.
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Keele, S.W., Boies, S.J. Processing demands of sequential information. Memory & Cognition 1, 85–90 (1973). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03198075
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03198075