Experimental paradigms emphasising state or process limitations: II effects on confidence

Abstract

This paper complements a previous study of speed-accuracy tradeoffs by presenting theoretical and empirical analyses of the relationships between confidence and response time (or number of observations, n) under an experimenter-controlled (E) and a subject-controlled (S) paradigm, which respectively emphasise state or process limitations on information quantity and quality. Results parallel those obtained with speed-accuracy tradeoffs in showing a clear difference between macro- and micro-functions. Detailed analyses of data from both conditions are inconsistent with a number of fixed- and variable-sample decision models, but conform closely to the predictions of an accumulator process, in w..