The influence of the intensity of the stimulus on the length of the reaction time, 1885.
JAMES MCKEEN CATTELL · Appleton-Century-Crofts eBooks · 1948
DURIKG the past two years, Dr. G. 0. Berger and I have been carrying on a series of experiments in the Psychological Laboratory of the University of Leipsic, looking to determine the relation between the intensity of the stimulus and the length of the reaction time.Wundt, Exner, and others had already made experiments on this subject, but it seemed to need a more thorough investigation. 1 We undertook to determine the influence of various intensities of the electric shock, and of light on the length of the simple reaction time, and on the reaction time complicated by the addition of simple cerebral operations.The term " reaction time " is now generally understood.If : one lifts one's hand as soon as possible after the sudden appearance of a light, the interval between the application of the .stimulus and the beginning of the muscular contraction is a reaction time.In order to investigate the influence of various intensities of light on the length of this time, we used a light produced in a Geissler's tube by an induction current from six Daniell cells.This light we took as normal, and tept constant.We then arranged five weaker intensities by putting smoked glass before the light.The amount of light transmitted through the smoked glass we determined photometrically.If we set the intensity of the normal light vi = 1000, then the intensities of the lights would be I. n. 7in. 23IV.