AN INFORMATIONAL APPROACH TO THINKING

Abstract

The general hypothesis of this thesis is that the amount of reduction of information from input to output is an important factor in the amount of thinking required by the task. This applies only to tasks which require the subject to process the input so that it is represented in a reduced form in the response. This hypothesis leads to the prediction that the greater theAMOUNT OF INFORMATION REDUCTION INVOLVED IN A TASK THE GREATER THE LENGTH OF TIME TO ACCOMPLISH IT, THE MORE ERRORS, THE GREATER THE VARIABILITY OVER SUBJECTS, AND THE LONGER THE LEARNING TIME. The possibility of specifying the amount of thinking required by a psychological task is demonstrated. Within a given task configuration the information reduction measure provides accurate prediction of human performance. It provides a base line useful of the comparison of performance among different types of tasks and in the classification of tasks. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 1962
Accession Number
AD0276136

Entities

People

  • Michael Posner

Organizations

  • University of Michigan

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Base Lines
  • Classification
  • Learning
  • Mental Processes
  • Motor Skills
  • Psychological Phenomena And Processes
  • Thinking

Fields of Study

  • Psychology

Readers

  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Mathematics or Statistics