# Where can I find experimental data supportive of the Hick-Hyman law?

The Hick-Hyman law states that in a reaction-time experiment, the average reaction time of a human subject is a linear function of the average information $\sum -p \log p$, i.e. the entropy, contained in the stimulus. [Hyman 1953]

Where can I get data supporting this? Data from Hyman’s paper would be great!

EDIT: more precisely, I'm looking for a complete, trial-by-trial dataset; not just averages.

## 1 Answer

In Hyman (1953) the following data is shown (Fig.1). The bits of information were the number of choices in an AFC task, where 1 to 8 alternatives corresponded to 0, 1, 1.58, 2.00, 2.32, 2.58, 2.81, and 3 bits of information (the 2log of the N alternatives).

Fig. 1. RT as a function of bits of info. source: Hyman (1953)

Reference
- Hyman, J Exp Psychol (1953); 45(3): 188-96

• thanks, this is indeed the paper I'm referring to, in my question. I should have been much more precise in my question, so I've just edited it: I'm actually looking for trial-by-trial data, not averages. – Arthur May 6 '17 at 12:17
• Likely unavailable after more than 60 years. – AliceD May 6 '17 at 13:04