Extracting Summary Statistics of Rapid Numerical Sequences.

ABSTRACT: We examine the ability of observers to extract summary statistics (such as the mean and the relative-variance) from rapid numerical sequences of two digit numbers presented at a rate of 4/s. In four experiments (total N = 100), we find that the participants show a remarkable ability to extract such summary statistics and that their precision in the estimation of the sequence-mean improves with the sequence-length (subject to individual differences). Using model selection for individual participants we find that, when only the sequence-average is estimated, most participants rely on a holistic process of frequency based estimation with a minority who rely on a (rule-based and capacity limited) mid-range strategy. When both the sequence-average and the relative variance are estimated,

SUBMITTER: Rosenbaum D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8517333 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature