Previous research has shown that warning signals can speed
the onset of the startle-blink reflex. To relate this phenomenon
to warning effects on voluntary reaction time (RT), the latencies
of both reflexive and voluntary responses were measured for
nine factorial combinations of warning and reflexogenic stimulus
modalities. Previous failures to use factorial manipulations
of warning (S1) and reaction (S2) stimulus
modalities have led to conflicting results in both the reflex
and RT literatures. Using psychophysically matched warning signals,
we found a facilitation of reflex latency that was nonspecific
with regard to S1 and S2 modality.
Furthermore, there was no support for the widely held assumption
that visual stimuli are inherently less alerting than auditory
and cutaneous stimuli. A between-group comparison showed that
simultaneous voluntary reactions do not distort the reflex
facilitation effect. These results support the validity of reflex
facilitation as a simple model system for studying warning effects
on sensorimotor reactions.