A comparison of empirical and theoretical explanations of temporal discrimination.

Guilhardi, Paulo

doi:10.1037/a0013259

Cited by 1 publication

(3 citation statements)

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“…A flow diagram of the modular theory is shown in Figure 3 (adapted from Guilhardi, in press; Guilhardi et al, 2007). The diagram contains the basic elements of the theory and the inputs and outputs of each element.…”

Section: Description Of Empirical and Theoretical Explanationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The equations for the perception, memory, and decision modules of the modular theory, as well as the explicit solution for the response rate as a function of time gradients are described in detail in Guilhardi, et al (2007) for the fixed-interval, and Yi (2007) and Guilhardi (in press) for the peak procedure. The parameters consisted of a rate parameter ( A ), the mean ( μ b ) and standard deviation ( γ b ) of the pattern memory threshold ( B ), the mean ( μ k ) and coefficient of variation ( γ k ) of the pattern memory K , and an operant response rate parameter ( R 0 ).…”

Section: Description Of Empirical and Theoretical Explanationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The parameter A , and the two parameters that had been fixed at 1 and 0 ( μ k and γ k ) were allowed to vary. The application of the theoretical explanation (the modular theory) for the peak procedure is precisely described in Yi (2007) and Guilhardi (in press) and not reproduced here since the goal is to provide an analysis of the theoretical explanation generality across procedures. The data from the peak procedure (circles) and the new fits of the theoretical explanation (smooth line) are shown in Figure 8 (data redrawn with permission from Yi, 2007).…”

Section: An Evaluation Of the Empirical And Theoretical Explanations mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The generality of empirical and theoretical explanations of behavior

Guilhardi

Church

2009

Behavioural Processes

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For theoretical explanations of data, parameter values estimated from a single dependent measure from one procedure are used to predict alternative dependent measures from many procedures. Theoretical explanations were compared to empirical explanations of data in which known functions and principles were used to fit only selected dependent measures. The comparison focused on the ability of theoretical and empirical explanations to generalize across samples of the data, across dependent measures of behavior, and across different procedures. Rat and human data from fixedinterval and peak procedures, in which principles (e.g., scalar timing) are well known, were described and fit by a theory with independent modules for perception, memory, and decision. The theoretical approach consisted of fitting closed-form equations of the theory to response rate gradients calculated from the data, simulating responses using parameter values previously estimated, and comparing theoretical predictions with dependent measures not used to estimate parameters. Although the empirical and theoretical explanations provided similar fits to the response rate gradients that generalized across samples and had the same number of parameters, only the theoretical explanation generalized across procedures and dependent measures. KeywordsCross-validation; modular theory; timing theories; theory evaluation Empirical explanations provide predictions of observed behavior without intervening variables; theoretical explanations also provide predictions of observed behavior but contain intervening variables that may represent psychological or neural processes. The goal was to compare empirical and theoretical explanations of behavior using an example of each. This paper describes an approach to determine the degree to which theories of behavior actually predict behavior.Over the past few years we have been developing what we consider to be a theoretical explanation of behavior (Guilhardi, Yi, & Church, 2007). More recently, however, we found it necessary to better understand the specific characteristics of theoretical explanations that justify their relatively complex structures that contain modules that represent different intervening processes, and that are well-specified by equations. The following statement was Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. taken from an editor's letter rejecting a paper that was submitted to a well respected journal: "Neither reviewer is greatly impressed by your model. Its assumptions seem arbitrary, or not obviously grounded in timing theory. Is it any more t...

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Section: Description Of Empirical and Theoretical Explanationsmentioning

confidence: 99%