Reaction time in normal and defective subjects following varied warning conditions.

Abstract

As a test of a stimulus-trace theory of behavioral inadequacy, normal and mentally defective Ss performed on a simple reaction-time task with warning intervals of 2, 4, 8, 12 sec. The warning stimulus was a light which for ½ of the Ss in each group was on for 1.5 sec. at the beginning of the warning interval. For the other Ss the warning signal was on throughout the warning interval. The signal to respond was a buzzer. The normal Ss performance did not differ for the 2 warning conditions but there were marked differences between the defective groups. A 2nd experiment using only defective Ss provided a control for a possible task artifact. The results were interpreted as suggesting a deficiency in short-term memory in defective Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)