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Separating after-effects of target and distractor processing in the tactile sensory modality
Ann-Katrin Wesslein1, Birte Moeller2, Christian Frings2
1Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. ann-katrin.wesslein@uni-tuebingen.de.
Attention, Perception & Psychophysics
|January 11, 2019
Summary
This study reveals that both tactile distractor and target processing influence subsequent performance. Distractor repetition effects are stronger when distractors interfere with responses, but event-file retrieval is unaffected by this interference.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive psychology
- Neuroscience
- Sensory processing
Background:
- Understanding cognitive aftereffects is crucial for explaining performance variations.
- Previous research focused on visual stimuli, leaving tactile aftereffects less explored.
- Distinguishing between distractor-specific and target-specific processing aftereffects is key.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the cognitive mechanisms behind tactile aftereffects.
- To determine if distractor-response compatibility modulates distractor repetition effects.
- To examine the role of event-file retrieval in tactile aftereffects.
Main Methods:
- Participants performed a tactile selection task with target and distractor stimuli.
- Distractors were manipulated as response incompatible or response neutral.
- Distractor and response relations across prime-probe sequences were orthogonally varied.
Main Results:
- Simple distractor repetition effects were larger for response-incompatible distractors compared to response-neutral ones.
- Event-file retrieval effects were not modulated by distractor response compatibility.
- Findings align with previous visual studies but highlight tactile-specific nuances.
Conclusions:
- Both prime-distractor and prime-target processing contribute to aftereffects in tactile tasks.
- Response compatibility influences distractor processing aftereffects.
- Event-file retrieval mechanisms appear robust across different distractor types in tactile tasks.
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