Effects of feature integration in a hands-crossed version of the Social Simon paradigm

In previous research, hands-crossed versions of a social variant of the Simon task were used to distinguish between effector-based coding of the Social Simon effect (SSE, analogously to the standard Simon effect) or body-based coding, in which the coding of stimulus location and seating position of the participants functions as a spatial reference frame. In the present study, the analysis of the SSE with respect to previous task requirements (i.e., Simon compatibility in N-1) in a hands-crossed variant of the Social Simon task shows that neither type of coding provides a sole explanation of the pattern of a SSE. Instead, the data pattern seems to be explained more parsimoniously by the assumption of a strengthening of low level feature integration mechanisms in a social setting, taking repetitions and alternations of both agents' stimulus and response features into account.