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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Examining Recall Memory in Infancy and Early Childhood Using the Elicited Imitation Paradigm

Examining Recall Memory in Infancy and Early Childhood Using the Elicited Imitation Paradigm

Published on: April 28, 2016

A memory-based model of Hick's law.

Darryl W Schneider¹, John R Anderson

¹Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. dws@cmu.edu

Cognitive Psychology

|February 5, 2011

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study introduces a memory-based model explaining Hick's law, demonstrating how reaction time increases with choices. The model integrates memory retrieval and repetition effects, offering a novel perspective on cognitive processes.

Keywords:

Hick’s law choice reaction time cognitive modeling fan effect memory

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Human Memory
Reaction Time Studies

Background:

Hick's law describes the relationship between reaction time and the number of stimulus-response alternatives.
Existing models often focus on information processing, potentially overlooking memory dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

To propose and evaluate a novel memory-based model of Hick's law.
To explain choice reaction time variations using principles of declarative memory retrieval and repetition effects.
To challenge purely information-theoretic interpretations of Hick's law.

Main Methods:

Development of a computational model integrating associative interference and non-retrieval savings.
Fitting the model to existing experimental datasets on reaction time and set size.
Designing and conducting two experiments to test model predictions regarding set size, stimulus fan, and transition effects.

Main Results:

The model successfully accounts for the basic set-size effect in choice reaction time.
It explains how practice modifies the set-size effect and accounts for stimulus-response repetition effects.
Experimental validation confirmed the predicted interaction between set size, stimulus fan, and stimulus-response transition.

Conclusions:

The proposed memory-based model provides a robust explanation for Hick's law.
It highlights the roles of associative interference and memory repetition in choice reaction time.
The findings support a memory-centric view of cognitive performance in tasks with multiple alternatives.