The power of style: Differential operator scaling in the lexical compression of sequences generated by psychological, content-free computer tasks
✍ Scribed by Karen A. Selz; Arnold J. Mandell
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1997
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 82 KB
- Volume
- 2
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1076-2787
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
We define and demonstrate the usefulness of a power law on binary sequences of finite length, computed as the changing measure of their lexical compression under the action of the algorithm with increasing sample length. This method successfully discriminates between the binary series from a fair coin, Golden Mean generator, and one containing the peak hierarchy of the Thue-Morse sequence. It also differentiates between the patterns of computer screen mouse cursor orbits produced by human subjects with subclinical obsessive-compulsive and borderline personalities (as defined by DSM-III-R, Axis II criteria) during the completion of content-free tasks.