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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 8, 2026

Transferring Cognitive Tasks Between Brain Imaging Modalities: Implications for Task Design and Results Interpretation in fMRI Studies

Transferring Cognitive Tasks Between Brain Imaging Modalities: Implications for Task Design and Results Interpretation in fMRI Studies

Published on: September 22, 2014

Task frequency influences stimulus-driven effects on task selection during voluntary task switching.

Catherine M Arrington¹, Kaitlin M Reiman

¹Department of Psychology, Lehigh University, 17 Memorial Drive E., Bethlehem, PA, 18015, USA, kate.arrington@lehigh.edu.

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review

|June 25, 2015

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Task frequency influences voluntary task switching. Less frequent tasks rely more on stimulus-driven selection, showing increased environmental influence when goal-directed control is less engaged.

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Neuroscience

Background:

Voluntary task switching involves goal-directed and stimulus-driven mechanisms.
Factors influencing the balance between these mechanisms are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

Investigate the role of task frequency in stimulus-driven task selection.
Examine how task frequency affects the balance between top-down and bottom-up control.

Main Methods:

Utilized a task switching paradigm with varying stimulus onset asynchronies.
Participants performed either a consonant/vowel or an even/odd judgment.
Manipulated task frequency through explicit instructions (Experiment 1) and natural variation (Experiment 2).

Main Results:

The less frequently performed task exhibited a greater effect of stimulus availability on task selection.
This suggests increased reliance on stimulus-driven mechanisms for less frequent tasks.
Both instructed and naturally varying task frequencies yielded similar results.

Conclusions:

Task frequency significantly modulates the balance between goal-directed and stimulus-driven task selection.
Reduced engagement of goal-directed mechanisms for less frequent tasks enhances the influence of the stimulus environment.