Subtractive Method

The subtractive method analyzes information processing process by breaking down reaction time to stimuli into different components based on the principle of subtraction. This method, also known as Donders’ subtraction method, was proposed by Dutch physiologist Franciscus C. Donders in 1968. In modern psychological research, reaction time is used as an important indicator for analyzing people’s perception, attention, learning, memory, thinking, motivation, and other psychological activities. In the history of reaction time research, the subtractive method is one of the most influential. The logic of the subtractive method experiment is that if one task involves a particular mental process that the other does not, and the two tasks are the same in all other respects except for this process, the difference between the two reaction times is then the time required for this mental process. Donders used three different reaction time tasks to verify this logic. He classified human reactions...