INTELLIGENCE, REACTION-TIME, AND INSPECTION TIME

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  • 1 January 1977
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 82  (3) , 273-281
Abstract
Human subjects [Ss] with IQ scores from 57-138 discriminated between 2 lines of markedly different length, exposed for varying periods of time. Estimates of inspection time, .lambda., a measure assumed to reflect the rate at which sensory input is processed, were obtained from the pattern of erros made by each S independently from the reaction time (RT) required to respond. .lambda. correlated negatively with IQ scores. RT of nonretarded SS increased as stimulus-exposure duration decreased; for retarded Ss RT remained constant. This indicated differences between groups in response strategy under conditions of difficult discrimination. Rate of information processing was estimated in a different choice RT situation, using as an index the reciprocal of the slope of the function relating RT to degree of stimulus choice. Retarded Ss had slower rates and longer RT than nonretarded Ss. A 2nd experiment controlling for response-selection factors confirmed that this slowness could not be attributed to gross-movement difficulties and that a slower rate of information transmission was apparently involved.

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