People are able to use temporal cues to anticipate the timing of an event, enabling them to process that event more efficiently. We conducted two experiments, using the fixed-foreperiod paradigm (Experiment 1) and the temporal-cueing paradigm (Experiment 2), to assess which components of information processing are speeded when subjects use such…

Behavioral and economic theories have long maintained that actions are chosen so as to minimize demands for exertion or work, a principle sometimes referred to as the "law of less work". The data supporting this idea pertain almost entirely to demands for physical effort. However, the same minimization principle has often been assumed also to…

Theoretical/empirical foundations on which reaction times are measured and interpreted are discussed. Models of human information processing are reviewed. A hybrid procedure and analytical framework are introduced, using a speed-accuracy decomposition technique to analyze the intermediate products of rapid mental processes. Results invalidate many…

Three experiments were conducted to evaluate the P300 component of the human evoked response as an index of bisensory information processing. Data shows that the P300 promises to be a valuable tool for assessing brain processes during complex decision making. (Editor/RK)