Modeling task switching without switching tasks: a short-term priming account of explicitly cued performance.
Switch costs in task switching are commonly attributed to an executive control process of task-set reconfiguration, particularly in studies involving the explicit task-cuing procedure. The authors propose an alternative account of explicitly cued performance that is based on 2 mechanisms: priming of cue encoding from residual activation of cues in short-term memory and compound cue retrieval of responses from long-term memory. Their short-term priming account explains the repeated cue encoding benefit, switch cost, reduction in switch cost with preparation time, and other effects. The authors develop a mathematical model of their priming account and fit it to data from 3 experiments, demonstrating that a set of basic psychological processes can produce several effects--including putative switch costs--without switching tasks.
Schneider
Darryl W
DW
Departmentof Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37203, USA. darryl.schneider@vanderbilt.edu
Logan
Gordon D
GD
D001288:Attention; D003463:Cues; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011340:Problem Solving; D011930:Reaction Time; D012153:Retention, Psychology