AGE, INTELLIGENCE, AND INSPECTION TIME

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  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 83  (4) , 398-401
Abstract
Ten young males whose IQ scores ranged from 51-71 were compared on a simple discrimination task with 10 male university students of the same CA [chronological age] and 28 nonretarded male children. Estimates of inspection time (.lambda.) were obtained from the pattern of errors made by each subject; .lambda. is assumed to reflect the rate at which sensory input is accumulated and processed. Average estimates of .lambda. from 4 groups of children (7, 8, 9 and 10 yr) were 147, 142, 137 and 139 msc, respectively. The mean for university students was 130 msc and that for retarded adults was 256 msc. Mean reaction time (RT) of all nonretarded groups increased as stimulus-exposure duration decreased, children being slower than adults. Retarded subjects'' RT was less influenced by stimulus-exposure duration and was faster than that of nonretarded groups at the shortest exposure. Slower perceptual speed among retarded persons is apparently a consequence of a permanent deficiency; differences in response strategy may explain the differences in RT.

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