After a Rash Action: Latency and Amplitude of the P300 Following Fast Guesses

A persistent theme in Lindsley’s writings has been the focus on the temporal characteristics of psychophysiological signals. Kutas et al. examined the relationship between the latency of P300 and the RT associated with each of the trials in an oddball study using names, sorted according to gender. Since the invocation of P300 is dependent on the evaluation of information conveyed by the stimulus, the latency of P300 must be at least as long as the duration of these evaluative processes. One striking aspect of the data acquired by Kutas et al. was observed in the trials in which subjects made errors. Seven right-handed male students at the University of Illinois were paid $3.50 an hour for their participation in the study. The metaphor that captures intent is that of an organization whose operating and administrative arms operate in a highly interactive, but nevertheless independent manner.