Abstract
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.
Highlights
Current theories on cognitive control assume that goal-directed behavior is achieved by controlling the task set
For the analysis of response times (RT), trials were excluded with RTs deviating more than three standard deviations from the mean computed for each condition and participant
RTs and Error Rates Response times of correct responses and error rates were analyzed in a two-way ANOVA with repeated measurement on the variables Task Transition and Stimulus Order
Summary
Current theories on cognitive control assume that goal-directed behavior is achieved by controlling the task set. While task set refers to a configuration of the cognitive system that allows for executing a certain task, task-set control denotes the process by which task sets are selected and implemented. We investigated how failures in task-set control can lead to task confusions, i.e., to the accidental execution of the wrong task. We asked whether task confusions are due to failures of endogenous control, exogenous control, or both. An answer to this question can provide valuable information about control processes involved in task-set control
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