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N-2 Repetition Costs in Task Switching: Task Inhibition or Interference Between Task Episodes?

Stefanie Schuch¹, Emily Keppler¹

¹Institute of Psychology, RWTH Aachen University, Germany.

Journal of Cognition

|November 16, 2022

Summary

This study clarifies task switching inhibition by differentiating between episodic interference and persistent inhibition. Findings show both mechanisms impact performance, with N-2 repetition costs reflecting inhibition, not just interference.

Keywords:

N-2 task repetition costs episodic interference task inhibition task switching

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Area of Science:

Cognitive psychology
Neuroscience
Human behavior

Background:

The N-2 repetition cost is a key behavioral marker for inhibition in task switching.
Recent studies question whether N-2 costs reflect inhibition or task episode interference.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate episodic effects in task switching, distinguishing between task-relevant and task-irrelevant feature interference.
To re-evaluate the interpretation of N-2 repetition costs as a measure of inhibition.

Main Methods:

Re-analysis of existing data and a new experiment manipulating episodic interference levels (three levels).
Examined N-2 repetition costs and task-lag effects across different episodic conditions.

Main Results:

Evidence found for both episodic interference and task-level inhibition.
N-2 repetition costs indicated task-level inhibition.
No significant modulation of N-2 costs by episodic conditions was observed.

Conclusions:

Both episodic interference and inhibition contribute to task performance.
N-2 repetition costs appear to primarily reflect inhibition, independent of episodic interference levels.