Task switches under Go/NoGo conditions and the decomposition of switch costs

Abstract

Alternating switches between two simple S-R tasks are combined with Go/NoGo tasks. Non-switches after Go trials are assumed to selectively profit from stimulus driven repetition benefits, whereas switches after NoGo trials are assumed to be selectively delayed by stimulus driven negative priming. Intentionally driven reconfiguration costs are assessed by RT differences between switches after Go trials (no negative priming) and non-switches after NoGo trials (no repetition benefits). Experiment 1 indicates that with short preparation time repetition benefits, negative priming costs, and intentional components contribute approximately additively to switch costs. Experiment 2 confirms that the delay of switches after NoGo trials is indeed due to negative priming. Experiments 3 and 4 show that repetition benefits and intentional components of switch costs are properly assessed only if the settings assure that participants reconfigure the required task set in NoGo as well as Go trials.