The effects of retinal displacement on reaction time and parameters within the Hick Paradigm were studied, using 80 university students. Focus was on the effects of practice, order, and visual attention. The effect of retinal displacement was of no practical or theoretical importance in the context of Jensen's research. (SLD)

The technique for examining the time course of information processing developed by D. E. Meyer et. al. (1988) is analyzed. Research is provided, which suggests that this new method gives important qualitative support to some stochastic models and quantitative support to the continuous diffusion model of information processing. (SLD)

Simultaneous recordings of auditory brainstem and middle latency responses were obtained in both vertex-ipsilateral and vertex-contralateral derivations in 22 children, ages 8-12. For specific recording conditions, the latencies of middle latency responses differ significantly between children with and without learning disabilities, offering…

Compares compliance rates to two sets of commands derived from research in child noncompliance: easy motor commands and difficult motor commands. Results show a clear difference in the natural rates of compliance to different types of one-step commands, suggesting that even subtle differences in commands affect response rates. (LKS)

A modified Visual Expectation Paradigm assessed the role of picture content in the spatiotemporal expectations of 80 infants. Stable picture content information facilitated formation of expectations about when and where pictures would appear. Two month olds' reactions were consistently slower than those of three month olds.(LB)

Event-related potentials (ERPs) and reaction time (RT) were recorded concurrently during performance of 6 simple cognitive tasks by 30 right-handed women who varied in mental ability. Results suggest that ERPs and RT may assess stimulus evaluation time and the response-production time components of cognitive information processing. (Author/SLD)

A systematic investigation of the Grice modeling scheme for response time (RT) clarifies fundamental notions about RT modeling. The analysis presented can be used to determine what in a certain RT model constitutes a set of empirically testable assumptions and what is merely an arbitrary choice of mathematical language. (SLD)

Event-related potentials (ERPs) of five- to seven-year-old girls were measured while the girls performed a visual selective attention task and a Piagetian conservation task. Results suggested more anterior ERP sources for nonconservers than conservers during early stimulus analysis, and more lateralized ERP sources for conservers than…

Presents two experiments involving 16 and 14 college students that were designed to enhance the sensitivity of reaction time as an information-processing correlate of general ability. Data from both are interpreted in terms of mental efficiency theories of intelligence. (SLD)

Examined implicit learning ability in 6- and 10-year olds and adults as assessed by a serial reaction-time task, along with retention of knowledge after one week and explicit knowledge developed by children. Found no age-related difference in serial reaction-time performance, consistent with the idea that implicit learning abilities may be…

Examined developmental change and stability of visual expectation and reaction times among 5-, 7-, and 12-month-old term and preterm infants. Found that reaction times declined with age while anticipations increased. Infants with faster reaction times were more likely to anticipate upcoming events; this effect disappeared when time between stimuli…

Studied the associations between scores on a test of general mental ability and reaction time, measured with a "Hick"-style device, using a sample of 900 adults (aged 56 years) in Scotland. Results agree with literature reviews suggesting that reaction times and their variabilities are stronger correlates of mental test scores than are…

The present experiment arranged a series of inverted U-shaped feedback functions relating reinforcer rate to response rate to test whether responding was consistent with an optimization account or with a one-to-one relation of response rate to reinforcer rate such as linear system theory's rate equation or Herrnstein's hyperbola. Reinforcer rate…

Sleep affects the health and well-being of children and plays a key role in preventing disease and injury, stability of mood, and ability to learn. Unfortunately, children often do not get adequate sleep on a regular basis. This study surveyed 199 fifth-grade students regarding their sleep habits using the Sleep Self-Report (SSR) instrument…

Merrill etal. (1996) reported that persons with intellectual disability (ID) were slower at learning a visual search task to automaticity relative to persons of the same age without ID. For persons without ID, automaticity develops most rapidly under conditions in which a response is always the same for a particular stimulus. This study was…