Adapting Chronometric Tests for Field Studies of Cognitive Ability

Abstract

Conclusions about group differences, especially sex differences, in cognitive ability have been based largely on psychometric tests, to the relative neglect of contemporary chronometric instruments. We explore some problems that may account for this methodological bias and suggest that the barriers to using chronometric techniques can be overcome. We adapted both the sentence-picture verification procedure and the Posner letter-matching task to field conditions, obtaining values in both instances which were virtually identical to those obtained under ideal laboratory conditions. 38 adults provided data for analysis.