Conflict versus misguided search as explanation of S-R correspondence effects

doi:10.1016/0001-6918(94)00011-5

Acta Psychologica

Volume 89, Issue 1, June 1995, Pages 37-51

https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-6918(94)00011-5 Get rights and content

Abstract

Two experiments investigated the impact of memory set size on effects of irrelevant spatial S-R correspondence. One vs. four stimuli were assigned to either hand, with random variation of the location of the target stimulus (Experiment 1) or of an accessory tone (Experiment 2). Correspondence effects decreased with increasing set size, thus disproving the buffer model of response selection suggested by Mewaldt, Connelly and Simon (1980). Instead, results are interpreted in terms of automatic stimulus-induced response activation that is subject to rapid decay.

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Cited by (18)

Beyond mean reaction times: Combining distributional analyses with processing stage manipulations in the Simon task
2020, Cognitive Psychology
Citation Excerpt :
The decision and motor stage manipulations of Experiments 2 and 4 naturally suggested between-block manipulations, so we also used a between-block manipulation in Experiment 1 to keep the experiments parallel.1 This procedural choice also allowed us to maintain better consistency with previous literature (e.g., Hommel, 1994b, 1995a; Metzker & Dreisbach, 2009; Mewaldt et al., 1980; Wühr & Biebl, 2011) and to investigate the effects of stronger manipulations on delta plots because discriminability manipulations, for example, produce larger effects between than within blocks (Van der Schoot, Smulders, Los, & Kok, 2003). In the first experiment, we manipulated the duration of perceptual processes by lowering the discriminability of the task-relevant stimulus attribute color.
We combined analyses of reaction time (RT) distributions with experimental manipulations of different processing stages (perception, decision, motor execution) in a Simon task to investigate which changes in Simon effects could be explained entirely by fading irrelevant response activation. Consistent with fading activation accounts, the Simon effect on mean RT was usually smaller for conditions with slower responses (Expts. 1–3 but not Expt. 4), and delta plot analyses revealed that it was always smaller for the slower responses within each condition. Critically, however, these analyses also revealed that some experimental manipulations produced upward or downward shifts in the RT delta plots, thus altering the Simon effect on mean RT in ways that could not be explained by fading activation. The results demonstrate the power of combining RT distributional analyses with experimental manipulations to reveal mechanisms contributing to the Simon effect that would not be revealed using only mean RT. We consider alternatives to fading activation accounts of decreasing delta plots and discuss the contribution of different cognitive stages in modulating Simon effects.
Toward an action-concept model of stimulus-response compatibility
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This chapter highlights the importance of the problem of action coding, that is, the cognitive representation of action, for theories of S-R compatibility. An action-concept model of S-R compatibility is presented, based on considerations of Lotze and Harleß on the emergence of voluntary action. It assumes that the cognitive code of any perceivable, movement-contingent event—hence, action effect—is associated with the motor pattern producing it. Accordingly, the cognitive system can, and actually does, use these action-effect codes to choose between actions and to address motor patterns for action generation. That is, action-effect codes serve for perception as well as for action control, and are thus called action concepts. The explanatory power of the action-concept model is demonstrated for a considerable number of findings from compatibility research. It is argued that such a model could close a theoretical gap in understanding S-R compatibility and the perception-action relationship in general.
S-R compatibility and response selection
1995, Acta Psychologica
In serial stage models, perception and action are usually thought to be linked to each other by an S-R translation mechanism. However, phenomena of S-R compatibility suggest a more direct relationship between perceptual and action domains. We discuss behavioral and psychophysiological evidence that irrelevant stimulus information automatically activates response codes, but then decays over time.
In a series of reaction time studies and electrophysiological experiments, we investigated both temporal and functional properties of the assumed automatic response activation process. We found that the amount of interference due to irrelevant spatial information depends upon how long its availability precedes that of the information relevant for response selection. This indicates that response activation decays rather quickly. If response-relevant and irrelevant spatial information are simultaneously available, electrophysiological measurements show that automatic activation of the spatially corresponding response rises soon after stimulus onset, but then dissipates and gets replaced by the activation of the response indicated by the relevant stimulus attribute.
We conclude that these findings do not support a pure translation account, but rather suggest the presence of two parallel and (at least partially) independent routes from perception to action: A direct route, allowing for automatic activation of response codes if stimulus and response features overlap, and an indirect route linking S and R codes in an arbitrary manner. Via the direct route responses may be primed independent of task-specific contingencies, while the correct response is selected via the indirect route. This use suggests that (a) the transmission of stimulus information to response stages does not (fully) depend on task relevance and that (b) different stimulus features can be transmitted asynchronously and independently from one another.
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The Role of Working Memory in Spatial S-R Correspondence Effects
2011, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance
Bidirectional Priming Processes in the Simon Task
2009, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance

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