Reaction time as an index of masking and the effect of check trials on thoughtful subjects
- 1 December 1966
- journal article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Australian Journal of Psychology
- Vol. 18 (3) , 255-261
- https://doi.org/10.1080/00049536608255546
Abstract
Reaction time (RT) of 28 Ss to a tone preceded by an air‐puff was measured for 40 trials. Absence v. presence of puff‐tone overlap and short (420 msec.) v. long (620 msec.) intervals between puff and tone onsets were varied orthogonally within Ss and randomly over the trial series, which also included 6 check (toneless puff) trials in order to discourage anticipations. RT was significantly faster with no overlap, indicating a differential masking effect of the tone by the puff. Additional significant effects were interpreted as indicating that the introduction of check trials complicated the short‐long interval comparisons through some “thoughtful” Ss recognizing and acting on certain differential probabilities in the situation.Keywords
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