The inverse Gaussian distribution is investigated as a basis for statistical analyses of skewed and possibly censored response times. This distribution arises from a random walk process, is a member of the exponential family, and admits the sample arithmetic and harmonic means as complete sufficient statistics. In addition, the inverse Gaussian provides a reasonable alternative to the more commonly used lognormal statistical model due to the attractive properties of its parameter estimates. / Three modifications were made to the basic distribution definition: adding a shift parameter to account for minimum latencies, allowing for Type I censoring, and convoluting two inverse Gaussian random variables in order to model components of response times. Corresponding parameter estimation and large sample test procedures were also developed. / Results from analysing two extensive sets of simple and two-choice reaction times suggest that shifting the origin and accounting for Type I censoring can substantially improve the reliability of inverse Gaussian parameter estimates. The results also indicate that the convolution model provides a convenient medium for probing underlying psychological processes.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.75343 |
| Date | January 1987 |
| Creators | Pashley, Peter J. |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Department of Psychology.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 000419406, proquestno: AAINL38173, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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