Task switching and action sequencing

Abstract

We investigated if task switching affects late response processes that occur after the selection of a response. Subjects performed a sequence of two responses. The first and second response were selected, and then executed in close succession. The interresponse interval (IRI) was taken as a measure of late response processes. The two responses could either belong to different tasks (task-switch condition), or to the same task that was performed twice (task-repetition condition). In all three experiments, the IRI was found to be longer in the task-switch condition than in the task-repetition condition, consistent with the idea that task switching affected late response processes. However, the effects of the manipulation of the stimulus-onset asynchrony revealed that the tendency to perform the two responses as a sequence was reduced in the task-switch condition relative to the task-repetition condition. Thus, the data do not provide unequivocal evidence for task switching affecting late response processes. The data show, however, that task switching affected action sequencing. Two actions that do not belong to the same task context are less likely to be performed as an action sequence. We suggest that task switching interacts with higher-order control processes that cannot be studied within the traditional task-switching paradigm.