Day 14 of 150 Speed Difficulty 6/10
Hick's law: choice time grows with the log of options
Quick answer
Hick's law: choice time grows with the log of options. Today's question (Hick's law) asks about a finding from Hick, W. E. in 1952. The correct option is Logarithmically — full explanation, primary source, and glossary cross-links below.
Today's question
Hick's law predicts that mean reaction time grows with the number of equally likely choices in what relationship?
Reveal the answer and explanation
Correct: B — Logarithmically
Hick (1952) and Hyman (1953) showed reaction time grows roughly as the log₂ of the number of equally likely choices. Eight options take only about three times as long as one option, not eight times. The result generalized into information theory's account of choice and now drives UI heuristics: a single deep menu often outperforms a wide, shallow array of options.
About the source
Hick, W. E. (1952). On the rate of gain of information. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 4(1), 11–26.
Every Cognition Bible question cites a primary source — a paper, book chapter, or monograph that exists, that we can point to on Google Scholar, and whose finding the question accurately summarizes. No fabricated authority strings, no name-drops without paper-level grounding.
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