Effects of S-R Coding on the Rate of Gain of Information

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Since the publication of Hick's 'On the Rate of Gain of Information' in 1952, it has generally been held that the function relating reaction time (RT) and the amount-of-information-transmitted-per-response (H sub t) was a linear one. As a linear function, it could be expressed in the slope-intercept form: RT = a + bH sub t where a and b are the intercept and the slope constants. From the results of experimentation conducted subsequent to Hick's (1952) publication, it appears likely that the magnitudes of the slope and intercept constants are dependent upon factors inherent in the experimental situation but that a and b are not affected in the same way. The purpose of the experiments reported here was to examine the probable validity of three hypotheses: (1) The RT vs. H sub t relationship is linear; (2) The intercept constant, a, is unaffected by variations in S-R coding rules; and (3) The slope constant, b, is highly dependent upon variations in S-R coding rules. The results of the present experiment are: (1) The RT vs. H sub t relationships were found to depart significantly from linearity for several of the S-R coding schemes studied; (2) The intercept constant, a, was found to be relatively insensitive to the S-R coding rules which were used; and (3) The slope constant, b, was found to be greatly affected by the S-R coding rules which were used. (Author).

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