Sequential effects of foreperiod duration and conditional probability of the signal in a choice reaction time task

doi:10.1016/0001-6918(75)90024-4

Acta Psychologica

Volume 39, Issue 5, October 1975, Pages 321-328

https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-6918(75)90024-4 Get rights and content

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to determine whether the negative relationship usually found between reaction time and foreperiod duration in the variable foreperiod paradigm is entirely due to sequential foreperiod effects. It has been shown that when a particular foreperiod has been preceded by a longer one on the previous trial, reaction time is longer than when the preceding foreperiod was equal or shorter. This may be sufficient to explain the increase in reaction time observed for short foreperiods in variable foreperiod conditions.

The present results show that, when sequential effects were controlled by the elimination of all trials where the foreperiod was shorter than the preceding one, the negative slope of the reaction time-foreperiod function diminished but did not disappear. The results suggest an interpretation of the role of conditional probability of stimulus arrival in terms of variation in the tendency to reprepare when the moment initially chosen for preparation appears to fall short of the moment at which the stimulus is actually presented.

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Cited by (20)

Dissociable influences of implicit temporal expectation on attentional performance and mind wandering
2020, Cognition
Citation Excerpt :
Different mechanisms have been proposed to underlie these behavioral foreperiod effects. Strategic accounts posit that an active monitoring system tracks the conditional probability of target occurrence, and adjusts the allocation of attentional resources to moments in time with the highest target probability (Alegria & Delhaye-Rembaux, 1975). In contrast, conditioning accounts propose that attentional strength is adjusted on a trial-by-trial basis, through associative learning mechanisms (Los, Knol, & Boers, 2001).
Mind wandering at critical moments during a cognitive task degrades performance. At other moments, mind wandering could serve to conserve task-relevant resources, allowing a brief mental respite. Recent research has shown that, if target timing is predictable, mind wandering episodes coincide with moments of low target likelihood. Conversely, mind wandering can be avoided at moments when targets are expected. In the current study, we tested whether mind wandering can be guided by implicit temporal expectations when target timing is less predictable. In two experiments (Experiment 1: N = 37, Experiment 2: N = 61), participants performed a sustained attention task in which target events were preceded by a variable pre-target interval (foreperiod). As time passes over the foreperiod duration, implicit target expectation increases, given that it has not yet appeared. In Experiment 1, all foreperiod durations were equally probable (uniform distribution: 2–10 s). This resulted in faster responses when targets were preceded by long compared to short foreperiods (foreperiod-effect). In contrast, mind wandering, assessed by thought probes inserted following short or long foreperiods, did not follow this pattern. In Experiment 2, alterations in the foreperiod distribution (left or right-skewed) resulted in changes in the behavioral foreperiod-effect, but mind wandering was unaffected. Our findings indicate that implicit timing strongly affects behavioral response to target events, but has no bearing on the mind wandering. Contrastingly, mind wandering did correlate with performance deterioration due to fatigue (time-on-task), suggesting that the thought probe method was sufficiently sensitive to behaviorally relevant changes in mental state.
The role of response inhibition in temporal preparation: Evidence from a go/no-go task
2013, Cognition
Citation Excerpt :
However, after applying a procedure that allowed them to partial out the contribution of sequential effects, Los and Agter observed that the largest part of the FP-distribution effect was left unexplained. This led them to conclude that this effect is mainly caused by a preparatory influence in addition to, or perhaps overruling, sequential influences (see also Alegria & Delhaye-Rembaux, 1975; Drazin, 1961; Possamaï, Granjon, Reynard, & Requin, 1975; Zahn & Rosenthal, 1966). Vallesi and Shallice (2007) further challenged the trace-conditioning model in the context of a uniform FP-distribution.
During the foreperiod (FP) of a warned reaction task, participants engage in a process of temporal preparation to speed response to the impending target stimulus. Previous neurophysiological studies have shown that inhibition is applied during FP to prevent premature response. Previous behavioral studies have shown that the duration of FP on both the current and the preceding trial codetermine response time to the target. Integrating these findings, the present study tested the hypothesis that the behavioral effects find their origin in response inhibition on the preceding trial. In two experiments the variable-FP paradigm was combined with a go/no-go task, in which no-go stimuli required explicit response inhibition. The resulting data pattern revealed sequential effects of both FP (long or short) and response requirement (go or no-go), which could be jointly understood as expressions of response inhibition, consistent with the hypothesis.
Arousal modulates temporal preparation under increased time uncertainty: Evidence from higher-order sequential foreperiod effects
2012, Acta Psychologica
Citation Excerpt :
However, the classic strategic-preparation view cannot explain the sequential modulation of the FP–RT slope that also occurs across trials. In fact, it has been claimed that the typical FP–RT slope arises (at least to some degree) from this sequential modulation (Alegria & Delhaye-Rembaux, 1975; Los & Agter, 2005). This sequential FP effect refers to the fact that responses on short-FP trials are slower when preceded by a long FP than when preceded by an equally long or shorter one.
When the foreperiod (FP) is unpredictably varied in reaction-time tasks, responses are slow at short but fast at long FPs (variable-FP effect), and further vary asymmetrically as a function of FP sequence (sequential FP effect). A trace-conditioning model attributes these phenomena to time-related associative learning, while a dual-process model views them as resulting from combined effects of strategic preparation and trial-to-trial changes in arousal. Sometimes, responses are slower in long–long than in short–long FP sequences. This pattern is not predicted from the trace-conditioning account, since FP repetitions should speed up, rather than slow down, responses (due to reinforcement). The effect, however, might indicate the contribution of arousal, which according to the dual-process model, is heightened after a short FP_n − 1 but decreased after a long FP_n − 1. In five experiments, we examined higher-order sequential FP effects on performance, with a particular emphasis on analyzing performance in long-FP_n trials as a function of FP length in the two preceding trials, varying temporal FP context (i.e. average FP length) and reaction mode (simple vs. choice reaction). Slower responses in long–long–long (compared with short–short–long) FP sequences were not found within a short-FP context (Exps. 1 & 2) but clearly emerged within a long-FP context (Exps. 3–5). This pattern supports the notion that transient arousal changes contribute to sequential performance effects in variable-FP tasks, in line with the dual-process account of temporal preparation.
Mental fatigue and temporal preparation in simple reaction-time performance
2010, Acta Psychologica
Citation Excerpt :
This strategic account, however, cannot explain sequential FP effects: Analyses that also considered FP length on the previous trial (FPn−1) as a determinant of RT revealed that responses are relatively fast when the previous trial’s FP was short but are relatively slow when the previous trial’s FP was long. ( e.g., Alegria & Delhaye-Rembaux, 1975; Karlin, 1959; Steinborn, Rolke, Bratzke, & Ulrich, 2008, 2009; Vallesi & Shallice, 2007; Van der Lubbe, Los, Jaskowski, & Verleger, 2004; Woodrow, 1914). These sequential FP effects are usually asymmetric, since RT is more strongly affected in trials with short FPs compared to trials with longer FPs, producing a typical FPn−1 × FPn interaction (see Fig. 1).
Performance decrements attributed to mental fatigue have been found to be especially pronounced in tasks that involve the voluntary control of attention. Here we explored whether mental fatigue from prolonged time on task (TOT) also impairs temporal preparation for speeded action in a simple reaction-time task. Temporal preparation is enabled by a warning signal presented before the imperative stimulus and usually results in shorter reaction time (RT). When the delay between warning and imperative stimuli – the foreperiod (FP) – varies between trials, responses are faster with longer FPs. This pattern has been proposed to arise from either voluntary attentional processes (temporal orienting) or automatic trial-to-trial learning (trace conditioning). The former account suggests a selective RT increase on long-FP trials with fatigue; the latter account suggests no such change. Over a work period of 51 min, we found the typical increase in overall RT but no selective RT increase after long FPs. This additivity indicates that TOT-induced mental fatigue generally reduces cognitive efficiency but leaves temporal preparation under time uncertainty unaffected. We consider this result more consistent with the trace-conditioning account of temporal preparation.
Dynamic adjustment of temporal preparation: Shifting warning signal modality attenuates the sequential foreperiod effect
2009, Acta Psychologica
Citation Excerpt :
Specifically, it is assumed that the individuals learn the temporal relationship between WS and IS in a trial-by-trial manner. Accordingly, the downward-sloping FP-RT function is considered to arise largely from sequential effects (Alegria & Delhaye-Rembaux, 1975; Los & Agter, 2005), which refers to the fact that RT in a current trial not only depends on the current FP (i.e., FPn) but also on FP of the immediately preceding trial (i.e., FPn−1). Specifically, responses in a short FPn trial are slower when preceded by a long FPn−1 than when preceded by an equally long or shorter FPn−1 trial (e.g., Karlin, 1959; Klemmer, 1956; Steinborn, Rolke, Bratzke, & Ulrich, 2008; Vallesi et al., 2007; Vallesi & Shallice, 2007; Van der Lubbe, Los, Jaskowski, & Verleger, 2004; Van Koningsbruggen & Rafal, 2009).
We examined sequential effects in the variable foreperiod (FP) paradigm, which refer to the finding that responses to an imperative signal (IS) are fast when a short FP trial is repeated but slow when it is preceded by a long FP trial. The effect has been attributed to a trace-conditioning mechanism in which individuals learn the temporal relationship between a warning signal (WS) and the IS in a trial-by-trial manner. An important assumption is that the WS in a current trial (i.e., trial FP_n) acts as a conditioned stimulus, such that it automatically triggers the conditioned response at the exact critical moment that was imperative in the previous trial (i.e., trial FP_n₋₁). According to this assumption, a shift from one WS modality in trial FP_n₋₁ to another modality in trial FP_n is expected to eliminate or at least reduce the sequential FP effect. This prediction was tested in three experiments that included a random variation of WS modality and FP length within blocks of trials. In agreement with the prediction, a shift in WS modality attenuated the asymmetry of the sequential FP effect.
Sequential effects within a short foreperiod context: Evidence for the conditioning account of temporal preparation
2008, Acta Psychologica
Responses to an imperative stimulus (IS) are especially fast when they are preceded by a warning signal (WS). When the interval between WS and IS (the foreperiod, FP) is variable, reaction time (RT) is not only influenced by the current FP but also by the FP of the preceding trial. These sequential effects have recently been proposed to originate from a trace conditioning process, in which the individuals learn the temporal WS–IS relationship in a trial-by-trial manner. Research has shown that trace conditioning is maximal when the temporal interval between the conditioned and unconditioned stimulus is between 0.25 and 0.60 s. Consequently, one would predict that sequential effects occur especially within short FP contexts. However, this prediction is contradicted by Karlin [Karlin, L. (1959). Reaction time as a function of foreperiod duration and variability. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 58, 185–191] who did not observe the typical sequential effects with short FPs. To investigate temporal preparation for short FPs, three experiments were conducted, examining the sequential FP effect comparably for short and long FP-sets (Experiment 1), assessing the influence of catch trials (Experiment 2) and the case of a very dense FP-range (Experiment 3) on sequential FP effects. The results provide strong evidence for sequential effects within a short FP context and thus support the trace conditioning account of temporal preparation.

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^☆: This work has been carried out under the direction of Professor P. Bertelson. It has been supported by the Belgian ‘Fonds de la Recherche Fondamentale Collective’ under contracts 612 and 10.152.

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Sequential effects of foreperiod duration and conditional probability of the signal in a choice reaction time task☆

Abstract

Acta Psychol.

Acta Psychol.

Acta Psychol.

The time course of preparation after a first peak: some constraints of reacting mechanisms

Quart. J. Exp. Psychol.

Sequential effects of foreperiod duration: some strategical factors in tasks involving time uncertainty

Effect of foreperiod, foreperiod variability and probability of stimulus occurrence on simple reaction time

J. Exp. Psychol.

Effects of timing signal on simple reaction time with ‘non-aging’ foreperiods

J. Exp. Psychol.

Reaction time as a function of foreperiod duration and variability

J. Exp. Psychol.