Perception of Temporal Order of Stimuli Differing in Sense Mode and Simple Reaction Time

Judgments of temporal order (method of constant stimuli) were obtained as a function of the delay between the onset of a visual and an auditory stimulus. Simple reaction times were also obtained to both the visual and the auditory stimulus. Differences in reaction time could not be used to predict the stimulus asynchrony for temporal order judgments, because the onset of the auditory stimulus had to precede the onset of the visual stimulus for 50% judgment of “click first,” whereas the auditory reaction time was significantly shorter than the visual reaction time. A speculative explanation is offered to account for the differences between the present findings and those of Hirsh and Sherrick (1961).