MATHEMATICAL ANALYSIS OF A MULTIPLE‐LOOK CONCEPT IDENTIFICATION MODEL

The behavior of focus samples central to the multiple‐look model of Trabasso and Bower (1968) is examined by three methods. First, exact probabilities of success conditional upon a certain brief history of stimulation are determined. Second, possible states of the organism during the experiment are defined and a transition matrix for those states determined, permitting prediction over all possible numbers of trials. Third, Fisher's generalizations and corrections of the Trabasso and Bower focus sample theory are examined. A general solution for the conditional probability of success is derived from Fisher's equation for the probability of n successes between any two errors. One very strong implication of the theory is given in Section 5.