Strategic influences on implementing instructions for future actions.
Temporal and strategic factors that might influence the transformation of verbal task rules into functional stimulus-response associations were investigated in three experiments. In a dual task paradigm of the ABBA type participants were presented new S-R instructions for the A-task at the beginning of each trial. On varying proportions of trials No-go signals rendered the instructed A-task mappings irrelevant before instruction implementation was assessed during performance of an unrelated B-task. Our results indicate that participants refrain from implementing the mappings during instruction presentation when No-go signals appear frequently and late (Exp. 2), and that they can interrupt implementing instructed S-R mappings when frequent No-go signals appear early enough during implementation (Exp. 3). When No-go signals are rare and late, however (Exp. 1), the instructed stimulus features always activate their associated responses during performance of the embedded B-task in an automatic manner. Together, these findings suggest that participants strategically control whether or not they implement verbal instructions. Once implemented, however, instructed S-R associations influence behaviour even when the instructed mappings are no longer task relevant.
Wenke
Dorit
D
Department of Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstrasse 1a, 04103, Leipzig, Germany. wenke@cbs.mpg.de
Gaschler
Robert
R
Nattkemper
Dieter
D
Frensch
Peter A
PA
D000328:Adult; D001245:Association Learning; D001288:Attention; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003118:Color Perception; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D005793:Generalization, Psychological; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D033182:Intention; D007600:Judgment; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D009949:Orientation; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time; D012858:Size Perception; D055815:Young Adult