S1-R2 and R1-R2 Backward Crosstalk Both Affect the Central Processing Stage

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Human Factors
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Dual-task performance is often impaired by feature overlap between tasks, known as backward crosstalk effects (BCEs).
• These effects can arise from overlap between responses (R1-R2 BCE) or stimulus and response (S1-R2 BCE).

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the processing locus of the S1-R2 BCE.
• To determine if S1-R2 and R1-R2 BCEs share a common processing locus.

Main Methods:

• Additive factors logic was employed.
• The duration of the Task 1 perceptual stage was manipulated.

Main Results:

• Results indicate that neither the S1-R2 BCE nor the R1-R2 BCE has a perceptual locus.
• Both BCEs appear to originate from a capacity-limited central processing stage.

Conclusions:

• The S1-R2 BCE and R1-R2 BCE likely arise from different processes within the central stage.
• The R1-R2 BCE affects response selection, while the S1-R2 BCE impacts stimulus classification in Task 1.