Finding the Right Fit: A Comparison of Process Assumptions Underlying Popular Drift-Diffusion Models
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2016
Abstract
Recent research makes increasing use of eye-tracking methodologies to generate and test process models. Overall, such research suggests that attention, generally indexed by fixations (gaze duration), plays a critical role in the construction of preference, although the methods employed to support this supposition differ substantially. In two studies we empirically test prototypical versions of prominent processing assumptions against one another and several base models. We find that general evidence accumulation processes provide a good fit to the data. An accumulation process that assumes leakage and temporal variability in evidence weighting (i.e. a primacy effect) fits the aggregate data, both in terms of choices and decision times, and does so across varying types of choices (e.g., charitable giving and hedonic consumption) and numbers of options well. However, when comparing models on the level of the individual, for a majority of participants simpler models capture choice data better. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Ashby, N. J., Jekel, M., Dickert, S., & Glockner, A.
(2016). Finding the Right Fit: A Comparison of Process Assumptions Underlying Popular Drift-Diffusion Models. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 42 (12), 1982-1993.
Publication Title
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition
Start Page No.
1982
End Page No.
1993
ISSN
1939-1285
DOI
10.1037/xlm0000279
Comments
Pre-print of article. Final version published at http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2016-31162-001