Abstract
A renewal counting model is formulated which explains the limits of the processing rate as a refractory phenomenon. The model assumes that stimulus elements are delivered to a central counter according to a renewal process and that the registration of a stimulus element blocks the counter for a random duration during which newly arriving stimulus elements cannot be registered. The main properties of the model are derived for arbitrary interarrival and blockade distributions, and the application of these general results to specific models is illustrated in detail. It is shown that the assumption of a random duration of the blocking intervals leads to a qualitatively different behavior of the model as compared to the case of fixed deadtimes. On the basis of these qualitative differences, versions of the general model become empirically distuingishable. Finally, alternative models such as cascades of counters are discussed and applications to experimental paradigms for flicker fusion and tachistoscopic recognition are outlined in some detail.
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