The factor of speed in intelligence.

From results secured from experiments with trained subjects in a psychological laboratory the authors conclude that speed of reaction is probably the most important factor in individual differences which appear in acts which involve intelligence. There is a high correlation between score in an test, speed in an test, and speed in a simple reaction. There is a lower correlation if the time limits for the standard tests are greatly extended. In such cases the slower subjects overtake the faster ones since the latter have no opportunity to utilize their additional time. But in any case where time is at all important the slow but accurate subject has no advantage over his more rapid rival. If speed of reaction should turn out to be the primary differentia in intelligent acts, one might consider intelligence as analogous to power in mechanics--i.e., amount of work done against time. A uniform relationship between speed of reaction and score on tests would also make it possible to test economically a fundamental and socially important individual difference. It would be important scientifically to know whether the locus of the individual differences in speed is not perhaps to be sought in the rate of conduction of the nervous impulse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)