A role for set in the control of automatic spatial response activation
1Psychology Department, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. efrisko@watarts.uwaterloo.ca
Experimental Psychology
|February 15, 2008
Summary
Spatial stimulus-response (S-R) compatibility is influenced by a participant's task set. The study shows that how S-R mappings repeat or switch significantly alters compatibility effects, revealing an interaction between automatic processes and cognitive set.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Spatial stimulus-response (S-R) compatibility is often attributed to automatic spatial response activation.
- The role of the participant's cognitive set in modulating these effects remains under investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how a participant's task set influences spatial stimulus-response (S-R) compatibility.
- To examine the interaction between automatic spatial response activation and task-set dynamics.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments involving a color discrimination and a localization task.
- Manipulation of S-R mappings, task-cues, and stimulus-response mapping repetition/switching.
- Assessment of compatibility effects based on cue-stimulus interval and mapping transitions.
Main Results:
- Compatibility effects were critically dependent on whether S-R mappings repeated or switched.
- The relationship between compatibility effects and cue-stimulus interval varied based on mapping transitions.
- Evidence suggests an interaction between automatic spatial activation and the participant's set.
Conclusions:
- Participant's task set plays a crucial role in modulating spatial S-R compatibility.
- The findings challenge purely automatic accounts of S-R compatibility, highlighting the influence of cognitive control.
- Future research should consider the dynamic interplay between automatic processes and task-set configurations.
