title: The effect of hierarchical task representations on task selection in voluntary task switching.
abstract: The current study explored the potential for hierarchical representations to influence action selection during voluntary task switching. Participants switched between 4 individual task elements. In Experiment 1, participants were encouraged to represent the task elements as grouped within a hierarchy based on experimental manipulations of varying complexity. Manipulations implemented only during the practice phase of the experiment failed to influence action selection; however, manipulations that persisted throughout the experiment influenced action selection in a manner suggestive of a hierarchical task representation. Experiment 2 demonstrated that, once established, the influences of hierarchical representations appear to persist, regardless of whether they are required. The results suggest that hierarchical representations may play a functional role of goal shielding in action selection.
authors: Traumatic Brain Injury Research Laboratory, Kessler Foundation Research Center, West Orange, NJ 07052, USA. sweaver@kesslerfoundation.org
authors: Starla M
authors: SM
authors: Weaver
authors: Catherine M
authors: CM
authors: Arrington
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D008297:Male; D011930:Reaction Time; D013037:Spatial Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D013334:Students; D014495:Universities