Abstract
The Simon effect refers to the performance (response time and accuracy) advantage for responses that spatially correspond to the task-irrelevant location of a stimulus. It has been attributed to a natural tendency to respond toward the source of stimulation. When location is task-relevant, however, and responses are intentionally directed away (incompatible) or toward (compatible) the source of the stimulation, there is also an advantage for spatially compatible responses over spatially incompatible responses. Interestingly, a number of studies have demonstrated a reversed, or reduced, Simon effect following practice with a spatial incompatibility task. One interpretation of this finding is that practicing a spatial incompatibility task disables the natural tendency to respond toward stimuli. Here, the temporal dynamics of this stimulus-response (S-R) transfer were explored with speed-accuracy trade-offs (SATs). All experiments used the mixed-task paradigm in which Simon and spatial compatibility/incompatibility tasks were interleaved across blocks of trials. In general, bidirectional S-R transfer was observed: while the spatial incompatibility task had an influence on the Simon effect, the task-relevant S-R mapping of the Simon task also had a small impact on congruency effects within the spatial compatibility and incompatibility tasks. These effects were generally greater when the task contexts were similar. Moreover, the SAT analysis of performance in the Simon task demonstrated that the tendency to respond to the location of the stimulus was not eliminated because of the spatial incompatibility task. Rather, S-R transfer from the spatial incompatibility task appeared to partially mask the natural tendency to respond to the source of stimulation with a conflicting inclination to respond away from it. These findings support the use of SAT methodology to quantitatively describe rapid response tendencies.
Highlights
The spatial configuration of stimuli and responses greatly affects human performance (Fitts and Seeger, 1953; Fitts and Deininger, 1954)
The models ranged from all factorial combinations that ranged from single fit (1 λ, 1 β, 1 δ, and 1 λ, 1 ω, 1 κ) to both datasets to a fully saturated model (2 λ, 2 β, 2 δ, and 2 λ, 2 ω, 2 κ)
The mean asymptote of individual fits was slightly higher for the spatial incompatibility group (M = 2.66) than it was for the spatial compatibility group (M = 2.31)
Summary
The spatial configuration of stimuli and responses greatly affects human performance (Fitts and Seeger, 1953; Fitts and Deininger, 1954). Spatial incompatibility tasks, where the stimulus location is task-relevant and the goal is to respond away from a stimulus, are generally performed more slowly and with greater errors than spatial compatibility tasks, where responses are directed toward stimuli (Fitts and Deininger, 1954). Fitts and Deininger proposed that the number of transformations between stimulus and response was a partial determinant of speeded responding under S-R compatible/incompatible conditions. Others have taken a slightly different approach, suggesting that the number or complexity of rules in an incompatibility task is greater than it is in a compatible condition (Duncan, 1977, 1978). It is generally thought that it is easier to respond when there is some kind of conceptual match between stimulus and response features (Kornblum et al, 1990)
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