title: Incorrect predictions reduce switch costs.
abstract: In three experiments, we combined two sources of conflict within a modified task-switching procedure. The first source of conflict was the one inherent in any task switching situation, namely the conflict between a task set activated by the recent performance of another task and the task set needed to perform the actually relevant task. The second source of conflict was induced by requiring participants to guess aspects of the upcoming task (Exps. 1 & 2: task identity; Exp. 3: position of task precue). In case of an incorrect guess, a conflict accrues between the representation of the guessed task and the actually relevant task. In Experiments 1 and 2, incorrect guesses led to an overall increase of reaction times and error rates, but they reduced task switch costs compared to conditions in which participants predicted the correct task. In Experiment 3, incorrect guesses resulted in faster performance overall and to a selective decrease of reaction times in task switch trials when the cue-target interval was long. We interpret these findings in terms of an enhanced level of controlled processing induced by a combination of two sources of conflict converging upon the same target of cognitive control.
authors.affiliation: Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Germany. Electronic address: kleinsorge@ifado.de.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kleinsorge
authors.affiliation: Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Germany.
authors.forename: Juliane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Scheil
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cognitive control; Conflict adaptation; Task switching