Change of Variable-Foreperiod Effects within an Experiment: A Bayesian Modeling Approach

Abstract

The framework of binding and retrieval in action control (BRAC) by Frings et al. (2020) proposed that repetition of any element in the previous trial triggers the retrieval of other elements in the same event file. Consistent with this framework, Los et al. (2014) argued that the temporal relation between the warning signal and the target stimulus on a trial is stored in a distinct memory trace (or, event file). Retrieval of the preceding memory trace, which is triggered by perceiving the same warning signal, leads to sequential foreperiod (SFP) effect. We modeled the data from four experiments using a Bayesian method to investigate whether the SFP effect changes over time. Results of Experiments 1, 3 and 4 support the multiple trace theory of preparation, which predicts an asymmetric sequential foreperiod effect, whereas those of Experiment 2 (extremely short foreperiods) support the repetition priming account by Capizzi et al. (2015). Moreover, the significance of the parameters showed that the asymmetry in Experiments 1 and 3 (non-aging distribution) developed gradually, whereas in Experiment 4 (uniform distribution), this asymmetry was significant from the beginning and did not change over time. Implications of these findings for temporal preparation models and BRAC framework were discussed.

Unifying temporal preparation: The temporal preparation task (TEP-Task)

“…Sequential effects reflect the finding of shorter RTs at the current short foreperiod when the previous foreperiod was also short rather than long. By contrast, at the current long foreperiod, there is usually little or no difference in RTs between a previous short and a previous long foreperiod (Capizzi et al, 2015;Han & Proctor, 2022;Los et al, 2014;Steinborn et al, 2008;Vallesi et al, 2013). Sequential effects underscore our ability to leverage implicit temporal information within ongoing situations to shape expectations and predict when a specific event might occur.…”

On doing multi-act arithmetic: A multitrait-multimethod approach of performance dimensions in integrated multitasking

“…Key to this idea is that these processes race against each other so that each unique trial is finally cleared up by either the retrieval or the algorithmic operation. Practice gains (due to retesting) occur, according to this conception, because repeated exposure leads to an accumulation of separate episodic traces with experience, which gives them a race advantage over the algorithmic process ( Miller and Ulrich, 2003 , 2013 ; Han and Proctor, 2022a , b , c ). To say it another way, retesting produces a gradual transition from algorithmic processing to memory-based processing and thus changes the relation (i.e., the mixture parameter) of both as a function of amount of practice ( Compton and Logan, 1991 ; Pashler and Baylis, 1991a , b ; Steinborn et al, 2009 , 2010b ; Los et al, 2014 , 2017 , 2021 ; Crowe and Kent, 2019 ).…”

Core Mechanisms in Action Control: Binding and Retrieval

“…The next block of articles extends binding and retrieval to features of time, errors and control states. Han and Proctor ( 2022 ) refer to prominent findings of foreperiod repetition effects and demonstrate that nominally irrelevant variations of foreperiods (i.e., time interval between a warning signal and an imperative stimulus) are included in event files. The authors used Bayesian modeling on trial-level data in four experiments to investigate underlying processes (including feature binding and retrieval) that contribute to sequential foreperiod effects.…”