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Response repetition benefits and costs
1Institut für Arbeitsphysiologie an der Universität Dortmund, Germany. kleinsorge@arb-phys.uni-dortmund.de
Acta Psychologica
|February 11, 2000
Summary
Response repetition speeds up reaction time (RT). However, changing the stimulus category between trials incurs costs, slowing down RT. This suggests stimulus category changes disrupt response repetition benefits.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Human Factors
- Reaction Time Studies
Background:
- Response repetition typically reduces choice reaction time (RT).
- Costs in RT can occur when task features change between trials.
- Previous research indicates task or feature changes can negate repetition benefits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if stimulus category changes cause response repetition costs.
- To determine if common physical task features are necessary for response repetition costs.
- To explore the impact of task feature changes on response repetition.
Main Methods:
- Three experiments were conducted using binary choice reaction tasks.
- Participants responded to symbols or letters in alternating runs.
- Stimulus category changes were systematically manipulated across trials.
Main Results:
- A change in stimulus category was sufficient to produce response repetition costs.
- Response repetition costs were observed even without common informative physical task features.
- Task feature changes disrupted repetition-based facilitation.
Conclusions:
- Stimulus category change is a sufficient condition for response repetition costs.
- Common physical task features are not necessary to elicit response repetition costs.
- Changes in task features disrupt established task representations, facilitating response alternation.