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Overview
Mental Chronometry (MC) comprises a variety of techniques for measuring the speed with which the brain processes information.First developed in mid-1800, MC was subsequently eclipsed by more complex and practically useful types of psychometric tests stemming from Alfred Binet. This class of mental tests, however, has no true metric relating the test scores to any specific properties of the brain per se. The scores merely represent an ordinal scale, only ranking individuals according to their overall performance on a variety of complex mental tasks. The resulting scores represent no more than ranks rather than being a true metrical scale of any specific dimension of brain function. Such an ordinal scale, which merely ranks individuals in some defined population, possesses no true scale properties, possessing neither a true zero or equal intervals throughout the scale. This deficiency obstructs the development of a true natural science of mental ability. The present burgeoning interest in understanding individual differences in mental abilities in terms of the natural sciences, biology and the brain sciences in particular, demands direct measures that functionally link brain and behavior. One such natural ratio scale is time itself - the time it takes the brain to perform some elementary cognitive task, measured in milliseconds.
After more than 25 years researching MC, Jensen here presents results on an absolute scale showing times for intake of visual and auditory information, for accessing short-term and long-term memory, and other cognitive skills, as a function of age, at yearly intervals from 3 to 80 years. The possible uses of MC in neurological diagnosis and the monitoring of drug effects on cognition, the chronometric study of special time-sensitive talents such as musical performance, and presents a theory of general intelligence, or g, as a function of the rate of oscillation of neural action potentials as measured by chronometric methods. Finally, Jensen urges the world-wide standardization of chronometric methods as necessary for advancing MC as a crucial branch of biopsychological science.
*Provides a different scale to report Mental Chronometry (MC) findings
*Argues for the global adoption of an absolute scale as opposed to the traditional ordinal scale
*An important contribution to MC researchers and psychologists and neuroscientists
Synopsis
Mental Chronometry (MC) comprises a variety of techniques for measuring the speed with which the brain processes information.
First developed in mid-1800, MC was subsequently eclipsed by more complex and practically useful types of psychometric tests stemming from Alfred Binet. This class of mental tests, however, has no true metric relating the test scores to any specific properties of the brain per se. The scores merely represent an ordinal scale, only ranking individuals according to their overall performance on a variety of complex mental tasks. The resulting scores represent no more than ranks rather than being a true metrical scale of any specific dimension of brain function. Such an ordinal scale, which merely ranks individuals in some defined population, possesses no true scale properties, possessing neither a true zero or equal intervals throughout the scale. This deficiency obstructs the development of a true natural science of mental ability. The present burgeoning interest in understanding individual differences in mental abilities in terms of the natural sciences, biology and the brain sciences in particular, demands direct measures that functionally link brain and behavior. One such natural ratio scale is time itself - the time it takes the brain to perform some elementary cognitive task, measured in milliseconds.
After more than 25 years researching MC, Jensen here presents results on an absolute scale showing times for intake of visual and auditory information, for accessing short-term and long-term memory, and other cognitive skills, as a function of age, at yearly intervals from 3 to 80 years. The possible uses of MC in neurological diagnosis and the monitoring of drug effects on cognition, the chronometric study of special time-sensitive talents such as musical performance, and presents a theory of general intelligence, or g, as a function of the rate of oscillation of neural action potentials as measured by chronometric methods. Finally, Jensen urges the world-wide standardization of chronometric methods as necessary for advancing MC as a crucial branch of biopsychological science.
*Provides a different scale to report Mental Chronometry (MC) findings
*Argues for the global adoption of an absolute scale as opposed to the traditional ordinal scale
*An important contribution to MC researchers and psychologists and neuroscientists
Doody Review Services
Reviewer:Gary B Kaniuk, Psy.D.(Cermak Health Services)
Description:This book describes mental chronometry (reaction time) and its measurement in relation to mental development, aging, various cognitive tasks, intelligence, and other psychological variables. This thorough account is written by one of the foremost experts in the field.
Purpose:The author notes, "Quantitative research in virtually all of the behavioral and social sciences is based almost entirely on the lowest grade of measurement that can still qualify as being quantitative, that is, ordinal or rank-order scales. Chronometry, on the other hand, allows us to jump up to the highest grade of measurement, that is, a true ratio scale." He adds, "Chronometry provides the closest noninvasive interface between brain and behavior. Neither the brain nor the behavior can be properly studied in isolation from each other. The common coin for the measurement of both brain activity and overt behavior is real time itself, ergo the importance of mental chronometry for research aimed at understanding the brain-behavior relationship.
Audience:The author intends the book for professionals and graduate students who, he hopes, "will readily find many chronometric phenomena that are potential grist for empirically testable hypotheses, and that they will tackle some of the many technical and theoretical problems that are either explicit or implicit in this book." The author is a renowned expert in the fields of intelligence and mental chronometry.
Features:The 14 chapters include a brief chronology, terminology and paradigms, chronometry of cognitive aging, theory of the correlation between response time and intelligence, relation of reaction time to other psychological variables, and clinical and medical uses of chronometry. The book is full of instructive figures.
Assessment:In general, this is fairly difficult reading, intended for an audience that has a solid background in this field. But the author is one of the foremost researchers and writers in the field, so it is invaluable. It is full of relevant research findings. Readers wanting to know all about mental chronometry will be richly rewarded.
Editorials
From The Critics
Reviewer: Gary B Kaniuk, Psy.D.(Cermak Health Services)Description: This book describes mental chronometry (reaction time) and its measurement in relation to mental development, aging, various cognitive tasks, intelligence, and other psychological variables. This thorough account is written by one of the foremost experts in the field.
Purpose: The author notes, "Quantitative research in virtually all of the behavioral and social sciences is based almost entirely on the lowest grade of measurement that can still qualify as being quantitative, that is, ordinal or rank-order scales. Chronometry, on the other hand, allows us to jump up to the highest grade of measurement, that is, a true ratio scale." He adds, "Chronometry provides the closest noninvasive interface between brain and behavior. Neither the brain nor the behavior can be properly studied in isolation from each other. The common coin for the measurement of both brain activity and overt behavior is real time itself, ergo the importance of mental chronometry for research aimed at understanding the brain-behavior relationship."
Audience: The author intends the book for professionals and graduate students who, he hopes, "will readily find many chronometric phenomena that are potential grist for empirically testable hypotheses, and that they will tackle some of the many technical and theoretical problems that are either explicit or implicit in this book." The author is a renowned expert in the fields of intelligence and mental chronometry.
Features: The 14 chapters include a brief chronology, terminology and paradigms, chronometry of cognitive aging, theory of the correlation between response time and intelligence, relation of reaction time to other psychological variables, and clinical and medical uses of chronometry. The book is full of instructive figures.
Assessment: In general, this is fairly difficult reading, intended for an audience that has a solid background in this field. But the author is one of the foremost researchers and writers in the field, so it is invaluable. It is full of relevant research findings. Readers wanting to know all about mental chronometry will be richly rewarded.
From the Publisher
"Jensen's writing is clear and concise, and every chapter is densely packed with information. The historical treatment of chronometry is perhaps most enjoyable, filled with personal anecdotes and unique insight into the politics of 20th century psychology and psychometrics."Chris Chatham for DEVELOPING INTELLIGENCE (http://develintel.blogspot.com/2006/12/12/review-clocking-mind.html)