Searching for the majority: algorithms of voluntary control.

Voluntary control of information processing is crucial to allocate resources and prioritize the processes that are most important under a given situation; the algorithms underlying such control, however, are often not clear. We investigated possible algorithms of control for the performance of the m...

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Main Authors: Jin Fan, Kevin G Guise, Xun Liu, Hongbin Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2008-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2567037?pdf=render
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spelling doaj-229547930f84491c9b33020e4747c7e42020-11-25T01:18:46ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032008-01-01310e352210.1371/journal.pone.0003522Searching for the majority: algorithms of voluntary control.Jin FanKevin G GuiseXun LiuHongbin WangVoluntary control of information processing is crucial to allocate resources and prioritize the processes that are most important under a given situation; the algorithms underlying such control, however, are often not clear. We investigated possible algorithms of control for the performance of the majority function, in which participants searched for and identified one of two alternative categories (left or right pointing arrows) as composing the majority in each stimulus set. We manipulated the amount (set size of 1, 3, and 5) and content (ratio of left and right pointing arrows within a set) of the inputs to test competing hypotheses regarding mental operations for information processing. Using a novel measure based on computational load, we found that reaction time was best predicted by a grouping search algorithm as compared to alternative algorithms (i.e., exhaustive or self-terminating search). The grouping search algorithm involves sampling and resampling of the inputs before a decision is reached. These findings highlight the importance of investigating the implications of voluntary control via algorithms of mental operations.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2567037?pdf=render
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Jin Fan
Kevin G Guise
Xun Liu
Hongbin Wang
spellingShingle Jin Fan
Kevin G Guise
Xun Liu
Hongbin Wang
Searching for the majority: algorithms of voluntary control.
PLoS ONE
author_facet Jin Fan
Kevin G Guise
Xun Liu
Hongbin Wang
author_sort Jin Fan
title Searching for the majority: algorithms of voluntary control.
title_short Searching for the majority: algorithms of voluntary control.
title_full Searching for the majority: algorithms of voluntary control.
title_fullStr Searching for the majority: algorithms of voluntary control.
title_full_unstemmed Searching for the majority: algorithms of voluntary control.
title_sort searching for the majority: algorithms of voluntary control.
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
series PLoS ONE
issn 1932-6203
publishDate 2008-01-01
description Voluntary control of information processing is crucial to allocate resources and prioritize the processes that are most important under a given situation; the algorithms underlying such control, however, are often not clear. We investigated possible algorithms of control for the performance of the majority function, in which participants searched for and identified one of two alternative categories (left or right pointing arrows) as composing the majority in each stimulus set. We manipulated the amount (set size of 1, 3, and 5) and content (ratio of left and right pointing arrows within a set) of the inputs to test competing hypotheses regarding mental operations for information processing. Using a novel measure based on computational load, we found that reaction time was best predicted by a grouping search algorithm as compared to alternative algorithms (i.e., exhaustive or self-terminating search). The grouping search algorithm involves sampling and resampling of the inputs before a decision is reached. These findings highlight the importance of investigating the implications of voluntary control via algorithms of mental operations.
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2567037?pdf=render
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