Reaction time to a tone in noise as a function of the signal-to-noise ratio and tone level

Abstract

Reaction time to the onset of a 1-kHz tone against a background of continuous noise was investigated. Results showed reaction time to decrease with increasing tonal level, even when the signal-to-noise ratio was held constant, implying that Weber's law does not hold for reaction time to a tone in noise. When the reaction times were plotted against the loudness of the tone, determined independently in a second experiment, no simple relationship emerged, contrary to the hypothesis that reaction time to a sound is a simple function of its loudness. It is concluded that reaction time processes differ from the processes involved in loudness discrimination or in signal detection. © 1984 Psychonomic Society, Inc.