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Rasch-Representable Reaction Time Distributions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2025

Dirk Vorberg  and
Wolfgang Schwarz
Dirk Vorberg*
Affiliation:
Fachbereich Psychnologie Philipps-Universität Marburg
Wolfgang Schwarz
Affiliation:
Fachbereich Psychnologie Philipps-Universität Marburg
*
Requests for reprints should be directed to Dirk Vorberg, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Institut für Psychologie, Spielmannstraβe 19, 3300 Brannschweig, FRG.
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Abstract

This article investigates properties of a representation based on the Rasch test model for reaction times (RT) that was proposed by Micko. Necessary and sufficient conditions for a set of RT distributions to be Rasch-representable are derived. It is shown that independent serial and independent parallel processing models cannot be reconciled with the representation. However, random extreme models compatible with the Reasch-representation exist that assume RT is determined by the longest or he shortest processing time of a random number of independent paraloel channels. Nonparametric properties of Rasch-representable distributions are derived that can be used for testing the model and for estimating its parameters. Conditions are presented for Rasch-representable distributions to form a scale family. Finally, Rasch-represent-able distributions are characterized interms of their hazard functions.

Keywords

Rasch test modelserial modelparallel modelreaction time distributions
Type
Original Paper
Information
Psychometrika , Volume 55 , Issue 4 , December 1990 , pp. 617 - 632
Copyright
Copyright © 1990 The Psychometric Society

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Footnotes

For helpful discussions, we are grateful to Hans Irtel, Christoph Micko, Hartmann Scheiblechner, and Hans-Henning Schultz.

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