Does preparation generate the cost of task switching? A recipe for a switch cost after cue-only trials
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21533367 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Motonori Yamaguchi (0000-0002-8405-9741, University of Essex, corresponding author), Rachel Swainson (0000-0002-0848-8819, University of Aberdeen) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 89 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 72-72 |
| Publication date | 2025-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Psychological Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0340-0727 • E-ISSN: 1430-2772 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s00426-025-02107-2 |
| PMID | 40126680 |
| OpenAlex | W4408796026 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 46 |
A switch cost can be observed in cued task-switching on trials that follow a cue-only trial , which presents a task cue indicating a task to be performed but does not present a target stimulus to be responded to. This finding has provided important implications as to the source of the performance cost that emerges when switching tasks. However, cue-only trials differ from completed trials (for which the target occurs and is responded to) in several task parameters, and there are a few untested assumptions about a task-switch cost after cue-only trials, which restricted the conditions under which cue-only trials have been used. The present study first examined whether a switch cost emerged after cue-only trials when cue-only trials were matched with completed trials in as many task parameters as possible, and found that an expected switch cost following cue-only trials was absent in response time. In the subsequent six experiments, we explored critical task parameters to obtain a switch cost after cue-only trials. The present results indicate that the use of a short preparation interval was an important factor and that the switch cost was more short-lived and dissipated more quickly after cue-only trials than after completed trials. These outcomes are consistent with the proposal that there are at least two sources of a task-switch cost, one that originates from processing a task cue and another that originates from performing a cued task. Early processes of task preparation (e.g., cue or task identification) may be sufficient to produce the switch cost after cue-only trials, but response-related processes might generate a more persistent switch cost
Clinical trial · Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Cued speech · Task switching · Computer Science · Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics · Medicine · Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies · Neuroscience · Psychology · Visual perception and processing mechanisms
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| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |