Executive control of cognitive processes in task switching.

Rubinstein, Joshua; Meyer, David E.; Evans, Jeffrey E.

doi:10.1037/0096-1523.27.4.763

Cited by 806 publications

(579 citation statements)

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“…The way in which processing based on memory of the cue might produce residual switch costs is open to debate. One possibility is that the residual switch costs observed for RTs and error rates in the present study might arise from a stochastic decision-making process that uses the cue representation in memory to select a task representation, such as a goal (Rubinstein, Meyer, & Evans, 2001), mediator (Logan & Schneider, 2006), or task code (Altmann & Gray, 2008). If the frequency and recency with which a task representation has been selected in the past influences the speed and accuracy of selection on subsequent trials, then task switches might be slower and more error-prone than task repetitions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating a method for reducing residual switch costs in cued task switching

Schneider

2016

Mem Cogn

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Residual switch costs in cued task switching are performance decrements that occur despite a long cue-target interval (CTI) to prepare for a task switch. Verbruggen, Liefooghe, Vandierendonck, and Demanet (Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 33; 342-356, 2007) showed that briefly presenting the cue during the CTI and leaving it absent after target onset yielded smaller residual switch costs than those obtained when the cue was available for the full CTI and remained present after target onset. The potential effects of cue availability during the CTI (full or partial) and cue status after target onset (present or absent) on residual switch costs were investigated in the present study. In Experiments 1 and 2, cue status was manipulated while holding cue availability constant. In Experiments 3 and 4, cue status and cue availability were manipulated factorially. Residual switch costs were obtained, but they were not modulated consistently by cue status or cue availability across experiments. In Experiment 5, a direct replication of one of Verbruggen and colleagues' experiments yielded divergent results. Implications for understanding task switching are discussed.Keywords Task switching . Residual switch cost . Task cuing . Cue availability . Cue absence Task switching is important in research on cognitive control because it highlights the capabilities and limitations of the cognitive system (Kiesel et al., 2010;Vandierendonck, Liefooghe, & Verbruggen, 2010). On the one hand, the cognitive system can perform different tasks in rapid succession. On the other hand, it is limited regarding how quickly and accurately task switching can be accomplished, as indicated by switch costs-worse performance for task switches than for task repetitions. This limitation is revealed especially by residual switch costs, which are performance decrements that sometimes occur despite a long time to prepare for a task switch (e.g., De Jong, 2000;Meiran, Chorev, & Sapir, 2000;Rogers & Monsell, 1995). The purpose of the present study was to investigate a method previously shown to reduce residual switch costs in cued task switching.On each trial of a cued task-switching experiment, a cue indicates the relevant task to perform on a target. For example, the cue odd-even might indicate that a target digit should be categorized as odd or even, whereas the cue small-large might indicate that the target should be categorized as smaller or larger than 5. Random selection of the cues produces different transitions across trials, with some trials being task switches (e.g., odd-even followed by small-large), and others being task repetitions (e.g., odd-even followed by odd-even). The performance difference between task switches and task repetitions is the switch cost.Two aspects of the typical cued task-switching procedure (see Meiran, 2014) are relevant for the present study. First, it is common to present the cue before the target, with the time from cue onset to target onset referred to as the cue-target...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating a method for reducing residual switch costs in cued task switching

Schneider

2016

Mem Cogn

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“…No significant differences were observed between the two groups on the other WCST measures. Most authors have proposed that the WCST assesses the ability to shift sets [19] [29] [30], problem-solving/hypothesis-testing, and response maintenance [29].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

EEG Correlations during WCST Performance in Female Adolescents with Sexual Abuse-Related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Martínez¹,

Sanz-Martín²,

Guevara³

et al. 2015

JBBS

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Child sexual abuse (CSA) survivors can present post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alterations in EEG activity and cognition. The aim of this study was to evaluate EEG correlations in female adolescents with CSA-related PTSD during performance of the Wisconsin Card-Sorting Test (WSCT). Inter-and intrahemispheric EEG correlations (INTERr and INTRAr) of those subjects were calculated at rest and during performance of WCST. On this task, the PTSD group obtained higher scores than the control group for the number of correct responses and failure to maintain set. In the between-groups comparisons, the PTSD group presented a higher INTERr between frontal areas in the gamma and slow bands, as well as a higher correlation in the delta band at Fp1-F3; however, this group presented a lower INTRAr between Fp1-P3 and Fp2-P4 in the theta and alpha1 bands. In the comparison between conditions, the PTSD group presented an increased correlation during execution of the WCST, mainly in the gamma band, while the control group showed a decrease of INTRAr in the slow bands. Results are discussed with respect to the influence of CSArelated PTSD on the development of cognition and functional connectivity in the brain.

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“…Most researchers agree though on these costs being caused by multiple processes. Attempts to model the temporal dynamics in task switch situations (e.g., Altmann & Gray, 2008;Logan & Bundesen, 2003;Mayr & Kliegl, 2000;Meiran, 2000a;Meiran, Kessler, & AdiJapha, 2008;Rubinstein, Meyer, & Evans, 2001;Rushworth, Passingham, & Nobre, 2002 typically emphasize two main sources of switch costs: (the lack of) advance task preparation and carry-over effects from the previous task (i.e., proactive interference).…”

Section: Task Switching and The Conceptualization Of Task Setsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shifting between mental sets: An individual differences approach to commonalities and differences of task switching components.

Bastian¹,

Druey²

2017

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

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Switching between mental sets has been extensively investigated in both experimental and individual differences research using a wide range of task-switch paradigms. However, it is yet unclear whether these different tasks measure a unitary shifting ability or reflect different facets thereof. In this study, 20 task pairs were administered to 119 young adults to assess 5 proposed components of mental set shifting: switching between judgments, stimulus dimensions, stimulus-response mappings, response sets, and stimulus sets. Modeling latent factors for each of the components revealed that a model with 5 separate yet mostly correlated factors fit the data best. In this model, the components most strongly related to the other latent factors were stimulus-response mapping shifting and, to a lesser degree, response set shifting. In addition, both factors were statistically indistinguishable from a second-order general shifting factor. In contrast, shifting between judgments as well as stimulus dimensions consistently required separate factors and could, hence, not fully be accounted for by the general shifting factor. Finally, shifting between stimulus sets was unrelated to any other shifting component but mapping shifting. We conclude that tasks assessing shifting between mappings are most adequate to assess general shifting ability. In contrast, shifting between stimulus sets (e.g., as in the Trail Making Test) probably reflects shifts in visual attention rather than executive shifting ability.Keywords: task switching, individual differences, executive functions, unity and diversity Supplemental materials: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xge0000333.supp It is common experience that we rarely focus on only one activity at the time uninterruptedly. Rather, most of our daily life involves several things going on in quick succession or even concurrently. For example, while driving a car, we may simultaneously listen to music, quickly shift our attention from the street to the navigation system, and back on the road in an attempt to orient in an unfamiliar city. The mental processes behind such task switching and multitasking are obviously complex and have been one of the main topics in cognitive research of the last decades. Terms as, for instance, executive functions, cognitive control, or mental flexibility have been used to refer to the set of "shifting abilities" required in such situations, and many different paradigms have been developed to experimentally investigate these skills (e.g., Logan, 1985;Pashler, 2000).Set shifting abilities have also been of central interest in individual differences studies and studies on so-called frontal-lobe functions (e.g., Alvarez & Emory, 2006;Miyake et al., 2000). In these contexts, tasks have frequently been used that already have a long tradition in the assessment of frontal-executive functioning such as the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and its derivatives, or the Trail Making Test (TMT).In the present study, we try to bridge the two fields by using an individual differences...

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Executive control of cognitive processes in task switching.

Cited by 806 publications

References 73 publications

Investigating a method for reducing residual switch costs in cued task switching

Investigating a method for reducing residual switch costs in cued task switching

EEG Correlations during WCST Performance in Female Adolescents with Sexual Abuse-Related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Shifting between mental sets: An individual differences approach to commonalities and differences of task switching components.

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