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. 1975 Jan;23(1):45–53. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1975.23-45

Time allocation in human vigilance1

William M Baum
PMCID: PMC1333318  PMID: 16811831

Abstract

Three human subjects detected unpredictable signals by pressing either of two telegraph keys. The relative frequencies with which detections occurred for the two alternatives were varied. The procedure included a changeover delay and response cost for letting go of a key. All subjects matched the relative time spent holding each key to the relative number of detections for that key, in conformity with the matching law. One subject's performance, which at first deviated from the relation, came into conformity with it when response cost was increased. Another subject's performance approximated matching more closely when the changeover delay was increased. The results confirm and extend the notions that choice consists in time allocation and that all behavior can be measured on the common scale of time.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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