No-go trials can modulate switch cost by interfering with effects of task preparation
Agatha Lenartowicz1, Nick Yeung, Jonathan D Cohen
1Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08540, USA. alenarto@ucla.edu
Psychological Research
|May 18, 2010
Summary
Switching tasks incurs a cost, but this is eliminated after no-go trials. This study reveals that no-go trials interfere with task preparation, affecting switch costs independently of response selection.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Task switching involves a performance cost.
- No-go trials, where no response is made, eliminate this switch cost.
- This suggests switch costs depend on response selection.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if no-go trials affect switch costs by interfering with task preparation.
- To differentiate the effects of response selection versus task preparation on switch costs.
Main Methods:
- Experiment 1: Measured switch costs following standard go trials versus no-go trials.
- Experiment 2: Measured switch costs following standard go trials versus cue-only trials (no stimulus after task cue).
Main Results:
- No significant switch cost was observed following no-go trials (Experiment 1).
- A reliable switch cost was found following cue-only trials (Experiment 2).
Conclusions:
- No-go trials modulate switch costs by interfering with task preparation, separate from response selection.
- Cue-only trials provide a clearer assessment of task preparation's influence on switch costs.
