ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the conceptual underpinnings of a comprehensive theory of information processing, Variable Criterion Theory, and describes its application to the study of individual differences in disjunctive reaction time. Developed and nurtured by G. Robert Grice, Variable Criterion Theory (VCT) has addressed an impressive array of sensory, motivational, and associative phenomena using the paradigms of human eyelid conditioning, simple and complex auditory reaction time, and simple visual reaction time. Conceptually, VCT enjoys a kinship with the theoretical approach adopted by Hull (1943, 1952) and Spence (1936, 1937, 1956). Mathematically, VCT has close ties with Thurstonian scaling theory (Thurstone, 1925, 1928), McGill's (1963) stochastic decision model, and signal detection theory (Green & Swets, 1966).
