INSPECTION TIME AND ITS RELATION TO INTELLIGENCE - ISSUES OF MEASUREMENT AND MEANING

This article reviews studies of inspection time (IT), the minimum time required reliably to identify a highly evident feature of a stimulus, and its relation to individual differences in intelligence. First, a number of statistical, psychometric and psychophysical issues are identified which raise questions about the effective measurement of IT. Next, explanations of the nature of IT and its relation to intelligence are examined. Finally, three approaches to a research agenda are identified which would differentially emphasise (a) sensory speed, (b) perceptual analysis and coding, and (c) attentional control processes.