Choice reaction time: An analysis of the major theoretical positions.

Abstract

This report analyzes and evaluates (against experimental findings) contemporary theories of choice reaction time (CRT). The influence of Donders' subtraction method on current theory is assessed, followed by a review of experimental findings concerned with the effects on CRT of (a) number of alternatives, (b) stimulus probability, (c) stimulus value, (d) repetition of stimulus or response, (e) stimulus discriminability, (f) stimulus-response compatibility, (g) practice, and (h) emphasis on speed vs. accuracy. A 3-state conceptualization of the central mechanisms operative during the latent period-stimulus preprocessing, stimulus categorization, and response selection-is proposed. The theories are dichotomized on the basis of the process-template matching vs. feature testing-which is assumed to underlie stimulus categorization. The analysis indicates that current theories have neglected response-selection processes and are consequently unable to account for several experimental findings. A final section deals with the relation of CRT theories to perceptual recognition theories.

New Look 3: Unconscious cognition reclaimed.

“…Information-processing analyses characterize cognition as a series of stages, or transformations, between stimulus input and response output (Smith, 1968). Among these stages, as the locus of conscious agency, attention occupies a major position.…”

Mental chronometry and individual differences: Modeling reliabilities and correlations of reaction time means and effect sizes

“…The first component consists of the mental processing required in each stage of a task. In keeping with a long tradition within RT research, this component of the model characterizes task requirements rather generically as a set of three sequential stages-A, B, and C-that must be carried out between the onset of the stimulus and the initiation of the response (e.g., Donders, 1868Donders, /1969Pashler, 1994;Smith, 1968;Sternberg, 1969). Stages A and C can be conceived as perceptual input and motor output stages, respectively, whereas stage B is a task-specific central stage such as response selection.…”

The effects of speed and accuracy strategies in an information-reduction task

“…The stimuli to which the positive response is appropriate comprise the positive set, and those to which the negative response is appropriate comprise the negative set. Smith (1968) baa outlined four stages of information processing which contribute to CRT. In Stage 1, or stimul.,.…”