The contribution of task-choice response selection to the switch cost in voluntary task switching

In task switching, when the amount of preparation time is increased, a reduction in switch cost or RISC effect is observed. This RISC effect is frequently attributed to advance reconfiguration processes. In the explicit task-cueing procedure, RISC effects are observed when varying the preparation time within participants but not when varying the preparation time across participants—a finding suggesting that RISC effects in the explicit task-cueing procedure are restricted to specific designs. The present study investigated RISC effects in voluntary task switching and compared RISC effects in a within-subjects design with RISC effects in a between-subjects design. Our results indicate that RISC effects are present in both designs. We conclude that advance reconfiguration in voluntary task switching is robust.

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Age differences in task choice in voluntary task switching

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e520562012-926 ◽

2009 ◽

Author(s):

Karin M. Butler ◽

Christina Weywadt

Keyword(s):

Age Differences ◽

Task Switching ◽

Voluntary Task Switching ◽

Task Choice

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Selective Stopping in Task Switching

Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) ◽

10.1027/1618-3169.53.1.48 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 53 (1) ◽

pp. 48-57 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Frederick Verbruggen ◽

Baptist Liefooghe ◽

André Vandierendonck

Keyword(s):

Task Switching ◽

Switch Cost ◽

Direct Evidence ◽

Response Selection ◽

Response Execution ◽

Distinct Role

Recently, several studies stressed the role of response selection in cued task switching. The present study tried to investigate directly the hypothesis that no switch cost can be found when there was no response selection. In two experiments, we combined a cued task switching paradigm with the selective stopping paradigm. Results of the experiments demonstrated that a switch cost was found when participants selected a response, even without response execution. Alternatively, when the response was inhibited without the need of response selection, no switch cost was found. These results provide direct evidence for the distinct role of response selection in cued task switching and suggest that response execution is not a necessary factor to obtain a switch cost.

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