Abstract
The voluntary task switching paradigm allows subjects to choose which task to perform on each trial in a stimulus environment affording multiple tasks. The present study examined the effect of stimulus availability on task choice. Subjects viewed displays containing a digit and a letter and performed either an even/odd or a consonant/vowel judgment on each trial. The target stimuli appeared with a stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) of 0, 50, 100, or 150 msec. The probability of performing the task associated with Stimulus 1 increased as SOA increased, indicating an effect of external or stimulus-driven factors on task choice. This effect of stimulus availability on task choice was greater when the response-stimulus interval was 400 msec than when it was 2,000 msec. This interaction of preparation interval and stimulus availability is explained within a model of task choice that includes both internal processes and external influences.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allport, A., & Wylie, G. (2000). Task switching, stimulus-response bindings, and negative priming. In S. Monsell & J. Driver (Eds.), Control of cognitive processes: Attention and performance XVIII (pp. 35–70). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Altmann, E. M. (2004). The preparation effect in task switching: Carryover of SOA. Memory & Cognition, 32, 153–163.
Arrington, C. M., & Logan, G. D. (2004). The cost of a voluntary task switch. Psychological Science, 15, 610–615.
Arrington, C. M., & Logan, G. D. (2005). Voluntary task switching: Chasing the elusive homunculus. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition, 31, 683–702.
Arrington, C. M., & Rhodes, K. M. (2007). Perceptual asymmetries influence task choice: The effect of lateralized presentation of hierarchical stimuli. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Baddeley, A. [D.], Chincotta, D., & Adlam, A. (2001). Working memory and the control of action: Evidence from task switching. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 130, 641–657.
Fan, J., McCandliss, B. D., Sommer, T., Raz, A., & Posner, M. I. (2002). Testing the efficiency and independence of attentional networks. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 14, 340–347.
Folk, C. L., Remington, R. W., & Johnston, J. C. (1992). Involuntary covert orienting is contingent on attentional control settings. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance, 18, 1030–1044.
Forstmann, B. U., Brass, M., Koch, I., & von Cramon, D. Y. (2006). Voluntary selection of task sets revealed by functional magnetic resonance imaging. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 18, 388–398.
Kane, M. J., & Engle, R. W. (2003). Working-memory capacity and the control of attention: The contributions of goal neglect, response competition, and task set to Stroop interference. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 132, 47–70.
Logan, G. D. (2003). Executive control of thought and action: In search of the wild homunculus. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 12, 45–48.
Logan, G. D., & Gordon, R. D. (2001). Executive control of visual attention in dual-task situations. Psychological Review, 108, 393–434.
Mayr, U., & Bell, T. (2006). On how to be unpredictable: Evidence from the voluntary task-switching paradigm. Psychological Science, 17, 774–780.
Meiran, N. (1996). Reconfiguration of processing mode prior to task performance. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition, 22, 1423–1442.
Monsell, S. (2003). Task switching. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 7, 134–140.
Norman, D. A., & Shallice, T. (1986). Attention to action: Willed and automatic control of behavior. In R. J. Davidson, G. E. Schwartz, & D. Shapiro (Eds.), Consciousness and self-regulation: Advances in research and theory (Vol. 4, pp. 1–18). New York: Plenum.
Posner, M. I., & Petersen, S. E. (1990). The attention system of the human brain. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 13, 25–42.
Rapoport, A., & Budescu, D. V. (1997). Randomization in individual choice behavior. Psychological Review, 104, 603–617.
Rogers, R. D., & Monsell, S. (1995). Costs of a predictable switch between simple cognitive tasks. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 124, 207–231.
Ruthruff, E., Remington, R. W., & Johnston, J. C. (2001). Switching between simple cognitive tasks: The interaction of top-down and bottom-up factors. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance, 27, 1404–1419.
Waszak, F., Hommel, B., & Allport, A. (2003). Task-switching and long-term priming: Role of episodic stimulus-task bindings in taskshift costs. Cognitive Psychology, 46, 361–413.
Yantis, S., & Jonides, J. (1990). Abrupt visual onsets and selective attention: Voluntary versus automatic allocation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance, 16, 121–134.
Yeung, N., & Monsell, S. (2003). Switching between tasks of unequal familiarity: The role of stimulus-attribute and response-set selection. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance, 29, 455–469.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This research was partially supported by a Paul J. Franz and Class of 1968 Junior Faculty Fellowship from Lehigh University.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Arrington, C.M. The effect of stimulus availability on task choice in voluntary task switching. Memory & Cognition 36, 991–997 (2008). https://doi.org/10.3758/MC.36.5.991
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/MC.36.5.991