In many psychological research domains stimulus-response profiles are explained by conjecturing a sequential process in which some variables mediate between stimuli and responses. Charting sequential processes is often a complex task because (1) many possible mediating variables may exist, and (2) interindividual differences may occur in the…

Signal detection theory forms the core of many current models of cognition, including memory, choice, and categorization. However, the classic signal detection model presumes the a priori existence of fixed stimulus representations--usually Gaussian distributions--even when the observer has no experience with the task. Furthermore, the classic…

The author briefly responds to a number of terminological, theoretical, and empirical issues raised in some postscripts. The goal is not to respond to each outstanding point but rather to address some comments that in his view confuse rather than clarify matters. He responds to Plaut and McClelland and Quian Quiroga and Kreiman in turn.

We formalize and provide tests of a set of logical-rule models for predicting perceptual classification response times (RTs) and choice probabilities. The models are developed by synthesizing mental-architecture, random-walk, and decision-bound approaches. According to the models, people make independent decisions about the locations of stimuli…

The extent to which unconscious information can influence behavior has been a topic of considerable debate throughout the history of psychology. A frequently used method for studying subliminal processing is the masked priming paradigm. The authors focused on studies in which this paradigm was used. Their aim was twofold: first, to assess the…

In psychological research, one often aims at explaining individual differences in S-R profiles, that is, individual differences in the responses (R) with which people react to specific stimuli (S). To this end, researchers often postulate an underlying sequential process, which boils down to the specification of a set of mediating variables (M)…

Category number effects on rule-based and information-integration category learning were investigated. Category number affected accuracy and the distribution of best-fitting models in the rule-based task but had no effect on accuracy and little effect on the distribution of best-fining models in the information-integration task. In the 2 category…

Four experiments are presented that competitively test rule- and exemplar-based models of human categorization behavior. Participants classified stimuli that varied on a unidimensional axis into 2 categories. The stimuli did not consistently belong to a category; instead, they were probabilistically assigned. By manipulating these assignment…

Argues that the concepts "career" and "dual-career marriage" are loosely defined in the literature, hindering the comparability of findings and accumulation of scientific knowledge. Supports this assertion with a review of recent articles. Finds sociological and psychological levels of analysis not clearly differentiated, with researchers assuming…

J. P. Minda and J. D. Smith (2001) showed that a prototype model outperforms an exemplar model, especially in larger categories or categories that contained more complex stimuli. R. M. Nosofsky and S. R. Zaki (2002) showed that an exemplar model with a response-scaling mechanism outperforms a prototype model. The authors of the current study…

The contribution of facet theory to applied psychological research is shown to be its ability to define problems and the solutions to them in terms relevant to those wishing to make practical use of research findings. Three examples illustrate the use of facet theory in applied research. (Author/CM)

Comments on Moshman's discussion, in this issue, of reasoning as self-constrained thinking, arguing that differences in type of reasoning constraint probably reflect different knowledge bases but do not necessarily imply different processes. The fact that different tasks require different kinds of knowledge does not mean that different processes…

The latency to classify a test item as not being from a memorized list of category words is usually slower when the test items are categorically related to memorized words than when they are unrelated. This observation has been explained by four models of recognition, which are evaluated here. (Editor/RK)

Compared five distinct classes of models of how people judge the relative sizes of named objects. Four basic experiments were all concerned with the amount of time necessary to decide which of two named things is larger. (Editor/RK)

Proposes a theory of reasoning and outlines four general types of reasoning (case-based, law-based, coherence-based, and dialectical) based on the constraints the reasoning seeks to honor. The development of reasoning is presented as a continuing construction and reconstruction of self-constraints and justifications for those constraints,…