Abstract
In contrast to the response selection bottleneck theory of dual-task performance, recent studies have demonstrated compatibility effects between secondary and primary responses on Task 1, suggesting that response information for two tasks may be generated in parallel. In two experiments, we examined the nature of Task 2 response activation in parallel with Task 1, using a psychological refractory period paradigm. Evidence of Task 2 to Task 1 response priming when each Task 2 stimulus was unique indicated that automatic parallel generation of response information occurred for Task 2 via abstract semantic category-to-response translation processes, independent of any direct stimulus-response influences. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the traditional response selection bottleneck theory of dual-task performance.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Fischer, R., Miller, J., & Schubert, T. (2007). Evidence for parallel semantic memory retrieval in dual tasks. Memory & Cognition, 35, 1685–1699.
Hommel, B. (1998). Automatic stimulus-response translation in dualtask performance. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance, 24, 1368–1384.
Kučera, H., & Francis, W. N. (1967). Computational analysis of present-day American English. Providence, RI: Brown University Press.
Logan, G. D. (1988). Toward an instance theory of automatization. Psychological Review, 95, 492–527.
Logan, G. D., & Delheimer, J. A. (2001). Parallel memory retrieval in dual-task situations: II. Episodic memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition, 27, 668–685.
Logan, G. D., & Gordon, R. D. (2001). Executive control of visual attention in dual-task situations. Psychological Review, 108, 393–434.
Logan, G. D., & Schulkind, M. D. (2000). Parallel memory retrieval in dual-task situations: I. Semantic memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance, 26, 1072–1090.
Meyer, D. E., & Kieras, D. E. (1997a). A computational theory of executive cognitive processes and multiple-task performance: Part 1. Basic mechanisms. Psychological Review, 104, 3–65.
Meyer, D. E., & Kieras, D. E. (1997b). A computational theory of executive cognitive processes and multiple-task performance: Part 2. Accounts of psychological refractory-period phenomena. Psychological Review, 104, 749–791.
Miller, J. (2006). Backward crosstalk effects in psychological refractory period paradigms: Effects of second-task response types on firsttask response latencies. Psychological Research, 70, 484–493.
Miller, J., & Alderton, M. (2006). Backward response-level crosstalk in the psychological refractory period paradigm. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance, 32, 149–165.
Navon, D., & Miller, J. (2002). Queuing or sharing? A critical evaluation of the single-bottleneck notion. Cognitive Psychology, 44, 193–251.
Pashler, H. (1984). Processing stages in overlapping tasks: Evidence for a central bottleneck. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance, 10, 358–377.
Pashler, H. (1994). Dual-task interference in simple tasks: Data and theory. Psychological Bulletin, 116, 220–244.
Pashler, H., & Baylis, G. (1991). Procedural learning: 1. Locus of practice effects in speeded choice tasks. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition, 17, 20–32.
Pashler, H., & Johnston, J. C. (1998). Attentional limitations in dualtask performance. In H. Pashler (Ed.), Attention (pp. 155–189). Hove, U.K.: Psychology Press.
Reynvoet, B., Caessens, B., & Brysbaert, M. (2002). Automatic stimulus-response associations may be semantically mediated. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 9, 107–112.
Telford, C. W. (1931). The refractory phase of voluntary and associative responses. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 14, 1–36.
Tombu, M., & Jolicoeur, P. (2002). All-or-none bottleneck versus capacity sharing accounts of the psychological refractory period phenomenon. Psychological Research, 66, 274–286.
Tombu, M., & Jolicoeur, P. (2003). A central capacity sharing model of dual-task performance. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance, 29, 3–18.
Watter, S., & Logan, G. D. (2006). Parallel response selection in dualtask situations. Perception & Psychophysics, 68, 254–277.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Additional information
This research was supported by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Grant 327454 to S.W. and by an NSERC postgraduate scholarship (PGS-D) and an Ontario Graduate Scholarship to S.J.T.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Thomson, S.J., Watter, S. & Finkelshtein, A. Parallel response selection in dual-task situations via automatic category-to-response translation. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics 72, 1791–1802 (2010). https://doi.org/10.3758/APP.72.7.1791
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/APP.72.7.1791