Automatic inhibition of habitual response associated with a non-target object while performing goal-directed actions.

Lari Vainio

doi:10.1177/1747021820971921

Abstract

This study is devoted to investigating mechanisms that inhibit habituated response associated with affordance of a non-target while executing action directed to a target. In four experiments, a paradigm was used that required a rapid left- or right-hand response according to the direction of the target arrow presented simultaneously or in close temporal proximity to a non-target whose handle position afforded grasping with the left or right hand. In general, responding was decelerated and more erroneous when the handle position was compatible with the responding hand. This effect of response inhibition was removed when the delay between the non-target offset and target onset was longer than 200 ms, and reversed into response facilitation when the target onset was delayed for 400–600 ms. The study suggests that processes that control withholding habitual response associated with affordance of a non-target utilise response inhibition mechanisms overlapping with those involved in behavioural control of the stop-signal task. This response inhibition is triggered automatically and directly by affordance of a non-target without preceding response excitation associated with this affordance cue.

Highlights

People develop various action habits during their lifetime such as turning on the faucet or flipping the light switch
Reaction times were measured from the onset of the target arrow to the onset of the key press
The fact that the effect was mostly missing with inverted jug primes shows that the effect is based on functionally meaningful handle affordance information of the prime rather than some abstract featural asymmetries associated with the shifting orientation

Summary

Introduction

People develop various action habits during their lifetime such as turning on the faucet or flipping the light switch. Habits can be considered as actions automatically (i.e., with minimal or no conscious and effortful top-down control of action planning) elicited by the environmental stimuli via direct stimulus–response (S-R) links that are developed through repetition and learning (Robbins & Costa, 2017). This does not mean that people could not withhold executing actions associated with these habituated stimuli if they do not benefit the current behavioural goal (Hardwick et al, 2019). Without the ability to inhibit habitual actions, we would be impulsive creatures that could not optimally execute goal-directed behaviour. Processes related to controlling habitual behaviour are far from understood

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