Reaction time

For a reflex, reaction time is the time from the onset of a stimulus until the organism responds.

Types

• Simple reaction time is the latency between a fixed stimulus and a fixed response.
• Complex reaction time is the latency between a variable stimulus and a respectively variable response.

Factors

The major factors affecting reaction time are:

• Recognition;
• Choice;
• Number of stimuli;
• Type of stimulus;
• Stimulus intensity;

There are many other factors that can also affect reaction time:

• Gender
• Practice and error
• Fatigue
• Distraction
• Vision
• Age