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Task set reconfiguration following masked and unmasked task cues
Alexander Berger1, Markus Kiefer1
1Ulm University, Department of Psychiatry, Ulm, Germany.
Consciousness and Cognition
|March 20, 2025
Summary
Unconsciously activated task sets do not undergo reconfiguration or inhibition, unlike consciously activated ones. This suggests that unconscious processes, once initiated, are not subject to inhibitory control.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Masked stimuli can activate task sets, influencing cognitive control.
- Consciously triggered task sets undergo reconfiguration and inhibition during task switching.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if unconsciously activated task sets are reconfigured or inhibited during task switching.
- To determine if inhibitory processes affect unconscious task set activation.
Main Methods:
- A task switching design was employed with masked cue presentation.
- N-2 repetition costs were measured to assess task set inhibition.
- Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded to analyze task set reconfiguration.
Main Results:
- Task sets were inhibited following unmasked cues, indicated by n-2 repetition costs.
- A cue-locked positivity ERP component showed task set reconfiguration after conscious preparation and execution.
- No evidence of unconscious task set reconfiguration or inhibition was found with masked cues.
Conclusions:
- Task set reconfiguration and inhibition appear to require conscious activation.
- Unconscious task set activation, once initiated, may not be terminated by inhibitory processes.
