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Item-specific priming of voluntary task switches.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Chiu, Y-C; Fröber, K; Egner, T
Published in: Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance
April 2020

The ability to switch efficiently between different tasks underpins cognitive flexibility and is impaired in various psychiatric disorders. Recent research has suggested that the control processes mediating switching can be subject to learning, because "switch readiness" can become associated with, and primed by, specific stimuli. In cued task switching, items that are frequently associated with the need to switch incur a smaller behavioral switch cost than do items associated with a low probability of switching, known as the item-specific switch probability (ISSP) effect (Chiu & Egner, 2017). However, it remains unknown whether ISSP associations modulate the efficiency of only cued switching or also impact people's voluntary choice to switch tasks. Here, we addressed this question by combining an ISSP manipulation with a protocol that mixed 75% standard cued task trials with 25% free choice trials, allowing us to measure the effect of ISSP on voluntary switch rate (VSR). We observed robust ISSP effects on cued trials, replicating previous findings. Crucially, we also found that the VSR was greater for items associated with a high than with a low switch likelihood. We thus demonstrate that associating specific stimuli with frequent switch requirements not only reduces switch costs but also enhances participants' tendency to switch voluntarily. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

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Published In

Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance

DOI

EISSN

1939-1277

ISSN

0096-1523

Publication Date

April 2020

Volume

46

Issue

4

Start / End Page

434 / 441

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Volition
  • Psychomotor Performance
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Experimental Psychology
  • Executive Function
  • Adult
  • 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
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Chiu, Y.-C., Fröber, K., & Egner, T. (2020). Item-specific priming of voluntary task switches. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance, 46(4), 434–441. https://doi.org/10.1037/xhp0000725
Chiu, Yu-Chin, Kerstin Fröber, and Tobias Egner. “Item-specific priming of voluntary task switches.Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance 46, no. 4 (April 2020): 434–41. https://doi.org/10.1037/xhp0000725.
Chiu Y-C, Fröber K, Egner T. Item-specific priming of voluntary task switches. Journal of experimental psychology Human perception and performance. 2020 Apr;46(4):434–41.
Chiu, Yu-Chin, et al. “Item-specific priming of voluntary task switches.Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance, vol. 46, no. 4, Apr. 2020, pp. 434–41. Epmc, doi:10.1037/xhp0000725.
Chiu Y-C, Fröber K, Egner T. Item-specific priming of voluntary task switches. Journal of experimental psychology Human perception and performance. 2020 Apr;46(4):434–441.

Published In

Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance

DOI

EISSN

1939-1277

ISSN

0096-1523

Publication Date

April 2020

Volume

46

Issue

4

Start / End Page

434 / 441

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Volition
  • Psychomotor Performance
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Experimental Psychology
  • Executive Function
  • Adult
  • 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology