The effect of episodic retrieval on inhibition in task switching: a diffusion model analysis
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
The effect of episodic retrieval on inhibition in task switching: a diffusion model analysis Agnieszka W. Kowalczyk1 · James A. Grange1 Received: 1 February 2019 / Accepted: 31 May 2019 © The Author(s) 2019
Abstract Inhibition in task switching is inferred from n − 2 task repetition costs: slower response times and poorer accuracy for ABA task switching sequences compared to CBA sequences, thought to reflect the persisting inhibition of task A across an ABA sequence. Much work has examined the locus of this inhibition effect, with evidence that inhibition targets response selection processes. Consistent with this, fits of the diffusion model to n − 2 task repetition cost data have shown that the cost is reflected by lower estimates of drift rate, suggesting that inhibition impairs information processing efficiency during response selection. However, we have shown that the n − 2 task repetition cost is confounded with episodic retrieval effects which masquerade as inhibitory costs. The purpose of the current study was to conduct a comprehensive analysis of diffusion model fits to new data within a paradigm that controls for episodic interference. Across four experiments (total N = 191 ), we find evidence that the reduction of drift rate for n − 2 task repetition costs is only evident under conditions of episodic interference, and the cost is absent when this interference is controlled for. In addition, we also find evidence that episodic retrieval influences task preparation processes and response caution. These findings provide important constraints for theories of task switching that suggest inhibition selectively targets response selection processes. Keywords Task switching · Inhibition · Episodic retrieval · Diffusion model Cognitive control refers to the set of cognitive processes that allow us to act in a goal-directed manner in the face of competing and/or ambiguous stimuli; it supports flexible and adaptive behaviour to changing task demands (Miyake et al., 2000), which is essential for goal-directed behaviour given our complex and busy environment. The task switching paradigm is an incredibly popular tool for investigating cognitive control processes (for reviews, see Grange & Houghton, 2014; Kiesel et al., 2010; Vandierendonck, Liefooghe, & Verbruggen, 2010). Within this paradigm, participants are required to make rapid responses to simple cognitive tasks on multivalent stimuli. For example, in the explicitly cued task switching paradigm (Meiran, 2014), participants might be presented with a digit stimulus and be asked to respond All raw data, analysis scripts, and computer code for the diffusion modelling can be downloaded from https://osf.io/ahbt3/. * James A. Grange [email protected] 1
School of Psychology, Dorothy Hodgkin Building, Keele University, Keele ST5 5BG, UK
to whether the stimulus is odd/even or lower/higher than 5, with the currently relevant task being signalled by a task cue (e.g. the word “magnitude”). One cognitive control process thought to assist task swi
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