title: The role of preparation and cue-modality in crossmodal task switching.
abstract: The present study examined the effects of cue-based preparation and cue-target modality mapping in crossmodal task switching. In two experiments, we randomly presented lateralized visual and auditory stimuli simultaneously. Subjects were asked to make a left/right judgment for a stimulus in only one of the modalities. Prior to each trial, the relevant stimulus modality was indicated by a visual or auditory cue. The cueing interval was manipulated to examine preparation. In Experiment 1, we used a corresponding mapping of cue-modality and stimulus modality, whereas in Experiment 2 the mapping of cue and stimulus modalities was reversed. We found reduced modality-switch costs with a long cueing interval, showing that attention shifts to stimulus modalities can be prepared, irrespective of cue-target modality mapping. We conclude that perceptual processing in crossmodal switching can be biased in a preparatory way towards task-relevant stimulus modalities.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychology, RWTH Aachen University, Germany. lukas@psych.rwth-aachen.de
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lukas
authors.forename: Andrea M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Philipp
authors.forename: Iring
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Koch
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*