Feature Overlap and Relevance Determine Sequential Modulations in the Simon Task

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-98
Author(s):  
Katharina Hoppe ◽  
Edmund Wascher ◽  
Kristina Küper
Keyword(s):  
Simon Task ◽  
Irrelevant Stimulus ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Stimulus Location ◽  
Feature Integration ◽  
Conflict Adaptation ◽  
Adaptation Mechanism ◽  
Stimulus Identity ◽  
Task Features ◽  
Feature Overlap

Abstract. Subjects usually respond faster and more accurate in trials in which the response location corresponds to a task-irrelevant stimulus location compared to when not. Previous research has shown, that this so-called Simon effect is reduced after non-corresponding compared to after corresponding trials. As of now it is yet unclear what exact mechanisms drive such sequential modulations. One theory assumes a conflict adaptation mechanism that decreases the influence of incongruent information after non-corresponding trials via increased cognitive control. However, other authors claim that feature integration processes may be the underlying mechanism as the amount of feature overlap differs between different correspondence sequences. Unfortunately, this also means that in the standard Simon task the repetition of task features and correspondence sequences are not independent. In order to address this issue, we mapped four stimuli to two responses in the present EEG study. This way, we created a task, which allows for sequences in which the stimulus identity may change without alternating the required response. These sequences may either comprise a change of the stimulus position or not and the contribution of feature integration as well as conflict adaptation processes could thus be observed independently. Our results indicate that the repetition of task features affects performance to a stronger degree than the correspondence sequence and feature integration processes do. Yet, an impact of both could still be observed. The strongest effect of feature repetitions on task performance was observed for task-relevant features, especially for the imperative stimulus identity itself. The EEG results support these findings. The amplitudes of the fronto-central N2 and the parietal P3 decreased with increasing feature overlap from one trial to the next. The posterior lateralization, reflected by the posterior contralateral negativity (PCN), however, appears to reflect mainly changes in the stimulus location and stimulus–response (S–R) correspondence rather than feature repetitions per se.

scholarly journals Spatial S-R compatibility with unimanual two-finger choice reactions: Effects of irrelevant stimulus location

1987 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriele Heister ◽  
Walter H. Ehrenstein ◽  
Peter Schroeder-Heister
Keyword(s):  
Irrelevant Stimulus ◽  
Stimulus Location

A feature-integration account of sequential effects in the Simon task

2004 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernhard Hommel ◽  
Robert W. Proctor ◽  
Kim-Phuong L. Vu
Keyword(s):  
Simon Task ◽  
Feature Integration ◽  
Sequential Effects

Accessory Stimuli Affect the Emergence of Conflict, Not Conflict Control

2011 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 102-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Böckler ◽  
Gamze Alpay ◽  
Birgit Stürmer
Keyword(s):  
Response Selection ◽  
Simon Task ◽  
Conflict Adaptation ◽  
Executive Attention ◽  
Response Preparation ◽  
Direct Response ◽  
Indirect Response ◽  
Selection Processes ◽  
Dual Route ◽  
Stimulus Classification

Accessory signals that precede stimuli in interference tasks lead to faster overall responses while conflict increases. Two opposing accounts exist for the latter finding: one is based on dual-route frameworks of response preparation and proposes amplification of both direct response activation and indirect response selection processes; the other refers to attentional networks and suggests inhibition of executive attention, thereby hampering conflict control. The present study replicated previous behavioral findings in a Simon task and extended them by electrophysiological evidence. Accessory tones facilitated stimulus classification and attentional allocation in the Simon task as reflected by an increased N1 amplitude and an overall decrease of the N2 amplitude, respectively. The conflict-related N2 amplitude, which is larger in conflict trials compared with nonconflict trials, was not modulated by accessory tones. Moreover, accessory tones did not affect sequence-dependent conflict adaptation. In terms of a dual-route framework present results suggest amplification of both response preparation routes by accessory stimuli. An executive attention approach proposing accessory stimuli to hamper control of conflict is not supported.

scholarly journals Alertness Modulates Conflict Adaptation and Feature Integration in an Opposite Way

PLoS ONE ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. e79146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peiduo Liu ◽  
Wenjing Yang ◽  
Jia Chen ◽  
Xiting Huang ◽  
Antao Chen
Keyword(s):  
Feature Integration ◽  
Conflict Adaptation

Irrelevant Location Information Influences Accuracy in Bowling

Motor Control ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Senne Braem ◽  
Stephanie Supply ◽  
Sanne P. Roels ◽  
Wim Notebaert
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Simon Effect ◽  
Congruency Effect ◽  
Ecological Validity ◽  
Irrelevant Stimulus ◽  
Stimulus Location ◽  
Location Information ◽  
Response Location ◽  
Weekly Training

Most cognitive control effects, although numerously reported in computer task studies, have rarely been tested outside the laboratory. The purpose of this study was twofold. First, we aimed to improve the ecological validity of a well-studied congruency effect. The Simon effect (Simon, 1969) is the observation that an irrelevant stimulus location can facilitate or impede task performance when it is congruent or incongruent with the response location. Secondly, we wanted to investigate the role of action experience on the Simon effect. In this study, experienced bowlers were asked to hit either the left- or rightmost pin, depending on the pitch of a tone. Irrelevant to the task, this tone could be presented in the congruent or incongruent ear. Our results demonstrate that the Simon effect can be observed outside the laboratory and that weekly training at bowling may help in shielding against irrelevant location stimuli.

The Influence of Social and Nonsocial Variables on the Simon Effect

2015 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 215-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davide R. Mussi ◽  
Barbara F. M. Marino ◽  
Lucia Riggio
Keyword(s):  
Simon Effect ◽  
Social Factors ◽  
Simon Task ◽  
Interpersonal Relationship ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Choice Task ◽  
Gender Composition ◽  
Shared Task ◽  
Task Features

Abstract. Recently, the Simon effect (SE) has been observed in social contexts when two individuals share a two-choice task. This joint SE (JSE) has been interpreted as evidence that people co-represent their actions. However, it is still not clear if the JSE is driven by social factors or low-level mechanisms. To address this question, we applied a common paradigm to a joint Simon task (Experiments 1 and 4), a standard Simon task (Experiment 2), and a go/no-go task (Experiment 3). The results showed that both the JSE and the SE were modulated by the repetition/non-repetition of task features. Moreover, the JSE was differently modulated by the gender composition of the two individuals involved in the shared task and by their interpersonal relationship. Taken together, our results do not support a pure social explanation of the JSE, nevertheless, they show the independent role of different social factors in modulating the effect.

Transfer of orthogonal stimulus–response mappings to an orthogonal Simon task

2009 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 746-765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gi Yeul Bae ◽  
Yang Seok Cho ◽  
Robert W. Proctor
Keyword(s):  
Simon Effect ◽  
Simon Task ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Stimulus Location ◽  
Response Compatibility ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Response Code ◽  
Stimulus Response ◽  
Stimulus Response Compatibility ◽  
Alternative Mapping

When up–down stimulus locations are mapped to left–right keypresses, an overall advantage for the up–right/down–left mapping is often obtained that varies as a function of response eccentricity. This orthogonal stimulus–response compatibility (SRC) effect also occurs when stimulus location is irrelevant, a phenomenon called the orthogonal Simon effect, and has been attributed to correspondence of stimulus and response code polarities. The Simon effect for horizontal stimulus–response (S–R) arrangements has been shown to be affected by short-term S–R associations established through the mapping used for a prior SRC task in which stimulus location was relevant. We examined whether such associations also transfer between orthogonal SRC and Simon tasks and whether correspondence of code polarities continues to contribute to performance in the Simon task. In Experiment 1, the orthogonal Simon effect was larger after practising with an up–right/down–left mapping of visual stimuli to responses than with the alternative mapping, for which the orthogonal Simon effect tended to reverse. Experiment 2 showed similar results when practice was with high (up) and low (down) pitch tones, though the influence of practice mapping was not as large as that in Experiment 1, implying that the short-term S–R associations acquired in practice are at least in part not modality specific. In Experiment 3, response eccentricity and practice mapping were shown to have separate influences on the orthogonal Simon effect, as expected if both code polarity and acquired S–R associations contribute to performance.

Mechanisms Underlying Transfer of Task-Defined Rules Across Feature Dimensions

2013 ◽  
Vol 60 (6) ◽  
pp. 410-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulia Baroni ◽  
Motonori Yamaguchi ◽  
Jing Chen ◽  
Robert W. Proctor
Keyword(s):  
Simon Effect ◽  
Simon Task ◽  
Single Task ◽  
Color Dimension ◽  
Highly Active ◽  
Transfer Paradigm ◽  
Task Similarity ◽  
Feature Overlap ◽  
Determining Factor

The Simon effect can be reversed, favoring spatially noncorresponding responses, when people respond to stimulus colors (e.g., green) by pressing a key labeled with the alternative color (i.e., red). This Hedge and Marsh reversal is most often attributed to transfer of logical recoding rules from the color dimension to the location dimension. A recent study showed that this transfer of logical recoding rules can occur not only within a single task but also across two separate tasks that are intermixed. The present study investigated the conditions that determine the transfer of logical recoding rules across tasks. Experiment 1 examined whether it occurs in a transfer paradigm, that is when the two tasks are performed separately, but provided little support for this possibility. Experiment 2 investigated the role of task-set readiness, using a mixed-task paradigm with a predictable trials sequence, which indicated that there is no transfer of task-defined rules across tasks even when they are highly active during the Simon task. Finally, Experiments 3 and 4 used a mixed-task paradigm, where trials of the two tasks were mixed randomly and unpredictably, and manipulated the amount of feature overlap between tasks. Results indicated that task similarity is a determining factor for transfer of task-defined rules to occur. Overall, the study provides evidence that transfer of logical recoding rules tends to occur across two tasks when tasks are unpredictably intermixed and use stimuli that are highly similar and confusable.

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