Fluctuations in the time required for elementary decisions
Gilden, D. L.

The nature of reaction time variability has been analyzed in a suite of four experiments involving tasks, methodologies, and types of perceptual judgment commonly encountered in cognitive psychology. In every case, a substantial fraction of the trial by trial variability in reaction time latency is shown to be well described by a particular type of fluctuation known as 1/f noise. These results suggest that the time it takes to make and register a speeded decision reflects a kind of dynamic complexity that is seen in natural systems that self-organize at the boundary between order and chaos.