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Related Experiment Videos

Advance preparation in task switching: what work is being done?

Erik M Altmann1

  • 1Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48824, USA. ema@msu.edu

Psychological Science
|August 26, 2004
PubMed
Summary

This study challenges the preparation effect in task switching, suggesting task activation, not switching, drives cognitive control. The preparation effect disappears when task cues are not remembered, indicating task activation is key.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Human Behavior

Background:

  • The preparation effect in task switching is typically attributed to a switching process utilizing the cue-stimulus interval (CSI).
  • This implies cognitive control mechanisms prepare for upcoming tasks within the CSI.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To empirically investigate the basis of the preparation effect in task switching.
  • To determine whether task switching or task activation is the primary functional process in cognitive control.

Main Methods:

  • Employed an explicit cuing paradigm across four experiments.
  • Manipulated the cue-stimulus interval (CSI) both within and between subjects.
  • Introduced a memory load manipulation by using cueless trials following task cues in Experiments 3 and 4.

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Main Results:

  • Experiments 1 and 3 replicated the preparation effect on switch cost.
  • Experiments 2 and 4 demonstrated the vanishing of this effect when CSI was manipulated between subjects.
  • The preparation effect persisted only when the task cue involved a memory load.

Conclusions:

  • The findings undermine the interpretation that a task switching process is responsible for the preparation effect.
  • Task activation, rather than task switching, is proposed as the core functional process in cognitive control.
  • The role of memory in retaining task cues influences the observed preparation effects.