Reaction Time

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Racial Differences in Reaction Times

It has often been argued that the racial differences in intelligence test performance may be due to the test being biased or to a variety of environmental factors such as differences in education, experience of dealing with visual representations, motivation, attitudes towards test taking and nutrition. The alternative theory is that these differences have a genetic basis. In order to test for which of these different explanations is correct, a study has been carried out to determine whether the racial differences in intelligence are also present in reaction times. The rationale of the study is that reaction times provide a measure of the brain’s neurological efficiency in dealing with very simple tasks and are unaffected by education, motivation and other environmental factors with the possible exception of extreme malnutrition.
It has been shown in a number of studies that reaction times are positively associated with intelligence, and the explanation widely accepted for this association is that reaction times provide a measure of the neurological efficiency of the brain in analysis and decision-making. Thus, if there are racial differences in reaction times of the same kind as those present in intelligence test performance, it can be inferred that these differences lie at the neurological level and probably reflect genetic differences.
Reaction times consist of the speed with which a subject reacts to simple stimuli. Normally a light comes on and the subject has to press a button to turn it off. Reaction time tasks can be varied to present different degrees of difficulty. In the areas and whose mean IQ was rather lower than would otherwise have been expected.
It will be seen that the Hong Kong and Japanese children obtained the highest mean IQs, fastest decision times and low decision time variabilities, the British and Irish children were intermediate, while the South African ...