Open AccessA Note on Drawing Conclusions in the Study of Visual Search and the Use of Slopes in Particular
Author(s) -
James T. Townsend
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
i-perception
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.64
H-Index - 26
ISSN - 2041-6695
DOI - 10.1177/2041669516674220
Subject(s) - statistic , perspective (graphical) , set (abstract data type) , function (biology) , psychology , history , computer science , statistics , mathematics , artificial intelligence , evolutionary biology , biology , programming language
The slope of the set size function as a critical statistic first gained favor in the 1960s due in large part to the seminal papers on short-term memory search by Saul Sternberg and soon, many others. In the 1980s, the slope statistic reemerged in much the same role in visual search as Anne Treisman and again, soon many others brought that research topic into great prominence. This note offers the historical and current perspective of the present author, who has devoted a significant portion of his theoretical efforts to this and related topics over the past 50 years.