Abstract
When special procedures are used to minimize S-R latency variance, all responses fall within a distribution which has a standard deviation near 10 msec. This minimum SD is the same whether the mean latency is at the simple RT limit or as much as 400 msec longer than that limit. Over this range, the latency distribution is everywhere the same, symmetrical and highly-peaked and not typical of RT. Above a mean latency of 550 msec, variance increases as the mean increases in the way that would be expected if SD/M were constant for the delay in excess of 550. By way of interpretation, it is proposed that there are internal time delays which can be inserted into the S-R chain. These delays can be adjusted to any value between 0 and about 400 msec, but once set, they can be deterministic. Other considerations are discussed which suggest that the deterministic time delays are in the afferent part of the S-R chain.
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This research was supported by Grant A7919 from the National Research Council of Canada. The paper was written while the author was on leave at the MRC-Applied Psychology Unit, Cambridge, England.
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Kristofferson, A.B. Low-variance stimulus-response latencies: Deterministic internal delays?. Perception & Psychophysics 20, 89–100 (1976). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03199438
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03199438