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An evidence accumulation model for conflict detection performance in a simulated air traffic control task
1School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. andrew@psy.uq.edu.au
Objective:
The aim of this article is to develop a formal model of conflict detection performance.
Background:
Our model assumes that participants iteratively sample evidence regarding the state of the world and accumulate it over time. A decision is made when the evidence reaches a threshold that changes over time in response to the increasing urgency of the task.
Method:
Two experiments were conducted to examine the effects of conflict geometry and timing on response proportions and response time.
Results:
The model is able to predict the observed pattern of response times, including a nonmonotonic relationship between distance at point of closest approach and response time, as well as effects of angle of approach and relative velocity.
Conclusion:
The results demonstrate that evidence accumulation models provide a good account of performance on a conflict detection task.
Application:
Evidence accumulation models are a form of dynamic signal detection theory, allowing for the analysis of response times as well as response proportions, and can be used for simulating human performance on dynamic decision tasks.
