Inhibitory Processes for Critical Situations – The Role of n−2 Task Repetition Costs in Human Multitasking Situations

The human cognitive system is equipped with various processes for dealing with everyday challenges. One of such processes is the inhibition of currently irrelevant goals or mental task-sets, which can be seen as a response to the critical event of information overflow in the cognitive system and challenging the cognitive system’s ability to keep track of ongoing demands. In two experiments, we investigate the flexibility of the inhibitory process by inserting rare non-critical events (25% of all trials), operationalized as univalent stimuli (i.e., unambiguous stimuli that call for only one specific task in a multitasking context), and by introducing the possibility to prepare for an upcoming task (Experiment 2). We found that the inhibitory process is not influenced by a cue informing subjects about the upcoming occurrence of a univalent stimulus. However, the introduction of univalent stimuli allowed preparatory processes to modify the impact of the inhibitory process. Therefore, our results suggest that inhibitory processes are engaged in a rather global manner, not taking into account variations in stimulus valence, which we took as operationalization of critical, conflict-inducing events in the ongoing stream of information processing. However, rare uncritical events, such as univalent stimuli that do not cause conflict and interference in the processing stream, appear to alter the way the cognitive system can take advantage of preparatory processes

Assessing the evidence for asymmetrical language switch costs and reversed language dominance effects - a meta analysis

Two seemingly counterintuitive phenomena – asymmetrical language switch costs and the reversed language dominance effect – prove to be particularly controversial in the literature on language control. Asymmetrical language switch costs refer to the larger costs for switching into the dominant language compared to switching into the less dominant language, both relative to staying in either one language. The reversed language dominance effect refers to longer reaction times when in the more dominant of the two languages in situations that require frequent language switching (i.e., mixed-language blocks). The asymmetrical language switch costs are commonly taken as an index for processes of transient, reactive inhibitory language control, whereas the reversed language dominance effect is taken as an index for sustained, proactive inhibitory language control. In the present meta-analysis, we set out to establish the empirical evidence for these two phenomena using a Bayesian linear mixed effects modelling approach. Despite the observation of both phenomena in some studies, our results suggest that overall, there is little evidence for the generality and robustness of these two effects, and this holds true even when conditions – such as language proficiency and preparation time manipulations – were included as moderators of these phenomena. We conclude that asymmetrical switch costs and the reversed language dominance effect are important for theory development, but their utility for theory testing is limited due to their lack of robustness and the absence of confirmed moderatory variables

Distractor onset but not preparation time affects the frequency of task confusions in task switching

When participants rapidly switch between tasks that share the same stimuli and responses, task confusions (i.e., the accidental application of the wrong task) can occur. The present study investigated whether these task confusions result from failures of endogenous control (i.e., from ineffective task preparation) or from failures of exogenous control (i.e., from stimulus-induced task conflicts). The frequency of task confusions was estimated by considering the relative proportion of distractor errors, that is, errors that result when participants erroneously respond to the distractor associated with the alternative task. In Experiment 1, the efficiency of exogenous control was manipulated by varying the temporal order of target and distractor presentation. In Experiment 2, the efficiency of endogenous control was manipulated by varying the time available for preparing the task in advance. It turned out that only the efficiency of exogenous control but not the efficiency of endogenous control influenced the proportion of distractor errors. Accordingly, task confusions are more related to failures in exogenous control

Dissociating cue-related and task-related processes in task inhibition: Evidence from using a 2:1 cue-to-task mapping

Performance of task sequences is assumed to rely on activation and inhibition of tasks. An empirical marker of task inhibition is the so-called n - 2 repetition cost, which is assessed by comparing performance in trial n - 2 task repetitions (i.e., ABA) with that in n - 2 task switches (i.e., CBA). Current theoretical accounts assume that inhibition acts on the level of task representations (i.e., task sets). However, another potential target of task inhibition could be the representation of the task cue. To decide between these two alternatives, the authors used a 2:1 cue-to-task mapping design. They found significant n - 2 task repetition costs both with n - 2 cue repetitions and n - 2 cue switches. These costs were about equal (Experiment 1), and this data pattern was found for both short and long cuing intervals (Experiment 2). Together, the data suggest that task inhibition acts on task sets and not on cue representations