INFORMATION-PROCESSING: CHOICE REACTION TIMES OF FIRST-AND THIRD-GRADE STUDENTS FOR TWO TYPES OF ASSOCIATIONS

Abstract

The primary intent of the study was to investigate the effect of amount of prior experience upon the slope of the function relating choice reaction time (RT) to stimulus uncertainty. This aim was implemented by comparing the performance of firstand third-grade students on a numeral-naming task with size of stimulus set varied. Although reaction latencies for thirdgrade students were significantly shorter than those for first-grade students, for neither group was an increase in the amount of information per numeral associated with an increase in choice RT. An explanation of the latter result in terms of the absence of response competition for numeral-numeral associations is examined.