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Research Methods in Cognitive Translation and Interpreting Studies
Edited by Ana María Rojo López and Ricardo Muñoz Martín
[Research Methods in Applied Linguistics 10] 2025
► pp. 327–350

Chapter 14
Reaction time

 | University of Granada
 | University of Murcia
 | University of Murcia
A reaction time program is a software created to measure the time it takes for a person to respond to a stimulus. Reaction time has proven useful in assessing aspects such as processing speed or coordination and is widely used in disciplines such as cognitive psychology or neuroscience. This chapter gives an overview of the history of the method and covers its main contributions to different fields, with a special focus on CTIS. It will also address conceptual, ethical, and methodological issues, in an attempt to provide the reader with the necessary keys to understand its potential and applications in research.
Article outline
  • 1.The method and key questions
    • 1.1The state of the art in reaction time research
      • 1.1.1The discovery of processing stages
      • 1.1.2Some basic findings in the fields of language and memory
      • 1.1.3Some reaction time findings in CTIS
    • 1.2Ethical issues
  • 2.Conceptual aspects
    • 2.1Reaction time as dependent variable
    • 2.2Controlling noise in reaction time research
  • 3.Implementation
    • 3.1Data pre-processing in reaction time research
    • 3.2Statistical analysis in reaction time research
    • 3.3Practical recommendations
    • 3.3Software for reaction time research
  • 4.Closing remarks
    • 4.1Emerging challenges in reaction time research
  • Further readings on reaction time
  • References
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References (43)
Further readings on reaction time
Baayen, R. H., & Milin, P. (2010). Analyzing reaction times. International Journal of Psychological Research, 3(2), 12–28. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jensen, A. R. (2006). Clocking the mind: Mental chronometry and individual differences (1st ed.). Elsevier.Google Scholar
Welford, A. T. (Ed.). (1980). Reaction times. Academic Press. [URL]Google Scholar
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