Individual differences in noise and associated perceptual indices of performance.

Abstract

Vickers et al. (1972) proposed that three main determinants of perceptual organization are the inspection time λ governing the rate of accumulation of sensory data, the noise in the visual system sD, and the degree of caution adopted for responding. The mean overall latency of judgments in a simple psychophysical discrimination task L was suggested to provide a satisfactory indirect index of caution. Differences between individuals in these three behavioural descriptors, together with an index of the use made of immediate memory δ, were compared with personality measured by the Manifest Anxiety Scale and the Eysenck Personality Inventory. Results from two experiments confirmed the independence of λ, sD, L, and δ as indicators of individual differences. The relationships between these measures and scores on the personality scales were clear, but not always straightforward. They are examined in terms of interactions between the processes underlying the measures.