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The 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: (1) number of alternatives, (2) stimulus probability, (3) stimulus value, (4) repetition of stimulus or response, (5) stimulus discriminability, (6) stimulus-response compatibility, (7) practice, and (8) emphasis on speed versus accuracy. A three-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 versus 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. (Author)
Edward E. Smith (1968) studied this question.