Individual differences in errors and latencies on cognitive tasks

Abstract Errors and latencies are complementary aspects of performance. In this article, the author explores the consequences of attempting to ignore one aspect of performance while analyzing the other. In particular, it is argued that the twin problems of what to do with error-response latencies and how to equate subjects on speed-accuracy tradeoff have seriously clouded our efforts to understand individual differences in cognitive processing. It is then shown how both of these problems can be solved by collecting data in a way that allows one to determine how accuracy and latency covary within each cell of the design. Results from four studies using diverse cognitive tasks also suggest that this method yields scores that better capture the information-processing characteristics of individuals than do conventional analyses based on errors or latencies.

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