The Interpretation of Reaction Time in Information-Processing Research 1

This chapter examines some of the assumptions and principles upon which the interpretation of reaction time measurement is based. It is hoped that the juxtaposition of these sets of issues will lead to the more careful use and interpretation of reaction time measures in the understanding of human information processing. Reaction time most typically is defined as the interval between the presentation of a stimulus to a subject and the subject’s response. Aside from questions about the conditions under which reaction time measures are obtained, the further interpretation of reaction time is dependent upon the experimental logic involved in specific situations. The Additive Factor Method, developed by Sternberg, has as its principal concern the first of the problems discussed above in conjunction with the limitations on the use of the Subtraction Method. There are a number of technical statistical considerations that dictate great caution in the application of this covariance technique to the error problem in reaction time studies.