Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30178182›Full record

ReviewNeuropsychology review2018

Non-Gaussian Distributional Analyses of Reaction Times (RT): Improvements that Increase Efficacy of RT Tasks for Describing Cognitive Processes.

David C Osmon, Dmitriy Kazakov, Octavio Santos, Michelle T Kassel

Abstract readReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Neuropsychology review, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

David C OsmonDepartment of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2441 E. Hartford Ave, Milwaukee, WI, 53211, USA. neuropsy@uwm.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3676-4857
Dmitriy KazakovDepartment of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2441 E. Hartford Ave, Milwaukee, WI, 53211, USA.
Octavio SantosDepartment of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2441 E. Hartford Ave, Milwaukee, WI, 53211, USA.
Michelle T KasselDepartment of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2441 E. Hartford Ave, Milwaukee, WI, 53211, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This didactic aims of this review are to demonstrate the advantages of examining the entire reaction time (RT) distribution to better realize the efficacy of mental speed assessment in clinical neuropsychology. RT distributions are typically non-normal, requiring consideration of a host of statistical issues. Specifically, the appropriate model of the mental speed task's distribution (e.g., ex-Gaussian, Weibull, Normal-Gaussian, etc.) must be determined to know what parameters can be used to characterize test performance. While RT mean and standard deviation are typically used to characterize clinical performance, these parameters are usually inappropriate because RT performance rarely conforms to a normal-Gaussian distribution. For illustrative purposes, a tutorial for examining the entire RT distribution is provided that demonstrates differences between an Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity and a neurotypical group of college students. While such analyses are descriptive, it is important to characterize test performance in the context of a theoretical model of RT performance. Therefore, the tutorial includes interpretation that uses the Diffusion model (Ratcliff Psychological Review, 85, 59-108, 1978), which assumes an ex-Gaussian distribution. It is concluded that current results conform to a large literature demonstrating a more nuanced understanding of cognition afforded by non-Gaussian analysis of RT. This literature is compelling neuropsychology to enlarge assessment technology beyond the limitations of paper-and-pencil instruments.

Indexed as

CognitionData Interpretation, StatisticalNeuropsychological TestsReaction TimeAdultAttention Deficit Disorder with HyperactivityFemaleHumansMaleDiffusion modelEx-GaussianReaction time

Identifiers

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.