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Studies of switching between tasks and studies of error commission have both provided solid behavioral measures of executive control. Nonetheless, a gap remains between these strands of research. In three experiments we sought to reduce this gap by assessing the impact of task errors on N-2 repetition costs, an effect supposedly related to task-set inhibition. Based on previous literature reporting a task-switch benefit following task errors, due to incidental learning of the erroneously executed task-set, we predicted N-2 repetition costs to be decreased after task errors in Trial N-2, relative to correct responses. Furthermore, we predicted this effect to be present only when corrective control mechanisms would not have the time to build up on the post-error trial (i.e., following fast post-error trial only). This hypothesis was tested in a three-tasks paradigm using incongruent stimuli, under the assumption that errors on such trials are partly due to task confusions. Consistent with our predictions, N-2 repetition costs following N-2 errors were found to be reduced when responses in Trial N-1 were fast but were present when the N-1 response was slow. Taken together, our results suggest that task execution leads to associative strengthening of the corresponding task-set, irrespective of response accuracy, and that such automatic strengthening can be counteracted by slowly acting control mechanisms. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

The aim of the present study was to examine the interplay of morphological configuration switching and language switching. The morphological configuration is present in word-formation whenever a word contains more than one free morpheme. The morphological configuration is variable both within and between languages for example in two-digit number names (is the decade named first as in twenty-one or the unit named first as in seventeen) and in compound words (is the modifier or the head named first). In the present experiments, participants had to switch between morphological configurations and between languages (German, English, and Spanish). Language-switch cost was measured as the performance difference between language-switch trials and language-repetition trials. In Experiments 1 and 2, participants performed language-comprehension tasks on two-digit numbers and a language-production task on compound words in Experiment 3. All three experiments revealed an under-additive switch cost pattern in which a larger language-switch cost occurred in morphological configuration-repetition trials than in morphological configuration-switch trials. Thus, the present data indicate integration of the morphological configuration and language into one language-related schema-irrespective of the language task (comprehension vs. production) and the type of stimuli (number words vs. compound nouns). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Evidence-accumulation models are a useful tool for investigating the cognitive processes that give rise to behavioural data patterns in reaction times (RTs) and error rates. In their simplest form, evidence-accumulation models include three parameters: The average rate of evidence accumulation over time (drift rate) and the amount of evidence that needs to be accumulated before a response becomes selected (boundary) both characterise the response-selection process; a third parameter summarises all processes before and after the response-selection process (non-decision time). Researchers often compute experimental effects as simple difference scores between two within-subject conditions and such difference scores can also be computed on model parameters. In the present paper, we report spurious correlations between such model parameter difference scores, both in empirical data and in computer simulations. The most pronounced spurious effect is a negative correlation between boundary difference and non-decision difference, which amounts to r = - .70 or larger. In the simulations, we only observed this spurious negative correlation when either (a) there was no true difference in model parameters between simulated experimental conditions, or (b) only drift rate was manipulated between simulated experimental conditions; when a true difference existed in boundary separation, non-decision time, or all three main parameters, the correlation disappeared. We suggest that care should be taken when using evidence-accumulation model difference scores for correlational approaches because the parameter difference scores can correlate in the absence of any true inter-individual differences at the population level.

The present research explores decision making in multitasking, investigating how people make optimal decisions between tasks. Empirical evidence suggests that difficulties in task performance (i.e., response conflict within a task) can bias decision making. Here we investigate whether also conflict between task representations can tune choices away from conflict-associated tasks. Using a combined forced/free-choice task-switching design, we tested whether task conflict that arises because of proactive interference of previously activated tasks biases task choice. We compared free-choice decisions between 3 tasks after forced-choice sequences that instigated either high task conflict (task sequences of type ABA, in which persisting inhibition needs to be overcome because one switches back to a just-abandoned task) or low task conflict (task sequences of type CBA). Results of 2 experiments (N = 16; N = 32, preregistered) showed that participants were more likely to switch away from the previously performed task after high than after low task conflict. Furthermore, participants preferably selected the task that suffered least from task conflict and/or proactive interference. In addition, a third experiment (N = 32) confirmed that this bias in task selection could not be explained in terms of randomness heuristics. These results suggest a close link between decision making and performance in multitasking. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: Language-switch costs, which denote worse performance in language-switch than in language-repetition trials, appear to be a robust finding in bilingual language switching. The aim of the present study was to examine the intraindividual reliability of language-switch costs by means of a number-naming task with German-English bilinguals. Design/methodology/approach: In a cued language-switching paradigm, participants ( n = 36) switched between German and English. They performed a number-naming task in three different conditions: one-digit numbers; two-digit numbers with decade 10; and two-digit numbers with decade 20. Data and analysis: We examined the experimental effects with an analysis of variance (reaction time and error rate as the dependent variables), using trial language, language sequence and number condition as independent variables. In addition, we calculated the split-half reliability of language-switch costs (across all conditions) as well as the correlations of language-switch costs between the different conditions. Findings/conclusions: While significant language-switch costs emerged in all three number conditions, our results demonstrate a medium-sized correlation between the three experimental conditions. The split-half reliability shows a moderate to strong correlation between the odd- and even-numbered trials in the experiment. Originality: On the one hand, the present study extends the observation of language-switch costs from one-digit number naming to the more complex naming of two-digit numbers. On the other hand, and theoretically even more important, we explored the reliability of language-switch costs in a bilingual number-naming task by calculating both split-half reliability and correlations between different number conditions. Significance/implications: The results indicated that while language-switch costs are a robust experimental effect on the group level, they appear to be less well suited for correlational approaches. This also suggests that caution should be exerted when language-switch costs are used to diagnose the ability of an individual to perform language control.

Several multilingual language production models assume that language control is instigated by conflict monitoring. In turn, conflict adaptation, a control process which makes it easier to resolve interference if previously a high-interference context was detected, should also occur during multilingual production, as it is triggered by conflict monitoring. Because no evidence has been provided for conflict adaptation in the multilingual production literature, we set out to investigate this process using the n-3 effect. Our study showed that the n-3 effect can be observed during multilingual production, and thus provides evidence for conflict adaptation during multilingual production.

Psychological research = Psychologische Forschung 86(7), 2158-2184 (2022). doi:10.1007/s00426-021-01627-x, Published by Springer, Berlin ; Heidelberg

Evidence-accumulation models are a useful tool for investigating the cognitive processes that give rise to behavioural data patterns in reaction times (RTs) and error rates. In their simplest form, evidence-accumulation models include three parameters: The average rate of evidence accumulation over time (drift rate) and the amount of evidence that needs to be accumulated before a response becomes selected (boundary) both characterise the response-selection process; a third parameter summarises all processes before and after the response-selection process (non-decision time). Researchers often compute experimental effects as simple difference scores between two within-subject conditions and such difference scores can also be computed on model parameters. In the present paper, we report spurious correlations between such model parameter difference scores, both in empirical data and in computer simulations. The most pronounced spurious effect is a negative correlation between boundary difference and non-decision difference, which amounts to r = –.70 or larger. In the simulations, we only observed this spurious negative correlation when either (a) there was no true difference in model parameters between simulated experimental conditions, or (b) only drift rate was manipulated between simulated experimental conditions; when a true difference existed in boundary separation, non-decision time, or all three main parameters, the correlation disappeared. We suggest that care should be taken when using evidence-accumulation model difference scores for correlational approaches, because the parameter difference scores can correlate in the absence of any true inter-individual differences at the population level.

The present study investigated the affective modulation of conflict adaptation. In a first step, we conducted a direct replication of a previous study (Schuch & Putz, 2018). Positive vs. negative mood state was induced by a success–failure manipulation (between-groups, N = 40 per group). In a subsequent task-switching experiment, the congruency sequence effect was assessed in task repetitions and task switches, measuring conflict adaptation within tasks and between tasks, respectively. We found conflict adaptation (averaged across task repetitions and task switches) to be enhanced in negative mood. We did not replicate our previous finding of enhanced conflict adaptation in task switches in positive mood. In a second step, we combined the replication data with the original data set, yielding a larger database with N = 80 per mood group. Using diffusion modeling, we explored the affective modulation of conflict adaptation in task repetitions. Conflict adaptation was reflected in drift rate, consistent with the idea that response conflict triggers an increase in processing selectivity, thereby attenuating the influence of the irrelevant stimulus dimension. Conflict adaptation was also reflected in boundary separation, suggesting that response conflict on the previous trial triggered an increase in response caution. The mood manipulation did not seem to affect processing selectivity (as captured by drift rate) but affected the setting of response caution (as captured by the boundary separation parameter), with faster and more error-prone responding in the negative than positive mood group. We discuss theoretical implications of these findings, and also briefly consider the affective modulations of other cognitive control measures.

Journal of cognition 3(1), 30 (2020). doi:10.5334/joc.115 special issue: "The state-of-the-art of research into human multitasking / Guest Editors: Leif Johannsen, Institute of Psychology, RWTH Aachen University, Germany; Andrea Kiesel, Institute of Psychology, Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg; Iring Koch, Institute of Psychology, RWTH Aachen University, Germany", Published by Ubiquity Press, London

The aim of this study was to examine language switching in a two-digit number naming task. In contrast to single digits, two-digit numbers have a composition rule (i.e., morphological configuration) that may differ between languages. For example, the Arabic number 21 is read with an inverted composition rule in German (unit before decade) and a non-inverted composition rule in English (decade before unit). In the present experiment, one group of German native speakers and one group of Spanish native speakers had to name two-digit numbers in German, English, or Spanish. The results demonstrate a language-switch cost, revealing better performance in language repetition than in language-switch trials. This switch cost was further modulated by repeating or switching the composition rule, since the language repetition benefit (i.e., the switch cost) was reduced in trials with composition-rule switches compared with trials with composition-rule repetitions. This finding indicates that the language in which the number word has to be produced and its composition rule are not switched independently but rather may be integrated into one language schema.

Typically, response-repetition effects are obtained in task-switching experiments: In task repetitions, performance is enhanced when the response, too, repeats (response-repetition benefits), whereas in task switches, performance is impaired when the response repeats (response-repetition costs). A previous study introduced cue modality switches in a cued task-switching paradigm with visual stimuli and obtained enhanced response-repetition benefits when the cue modality repeated (Koch, Frings, & Schuch Psychological Research, 82, 570–579, 2018). In the present study, we aimed to replicate this finding with auditory stimuli (Exp. 1), and further examined whether response-repetition effects could be modulated by introducing stimulus modality switches (Exp. 2). We found clear evidence that the cue modality and stimulus modality affect task switch costs. The task switch costs were higher with a repeated cue modality or stimulus modality. However, cue modality switches or stimulus modality switches did not affect the response-repetition effects. We suggest that response-repetition effects are elicited by response-associated bindings, which are not necessarily affected by all episodic task features to the same extent. Our results are also in line with theoretical accounts that assume a hierarchical organization of task selection and response selection.

Conflict adaptation is a cognitive mechanism denoting increased cognitive control upon detection of conflict. This mechanism can be measured by the congruency sequence effect, indicating the reduction of congruency effects after incongruent trials (where response conflict occurs) relative to congruent trials (without response conflict). Several studies have reported increased conflict adaptation under negative, as compared to positive, mood. In these studies, sustained mood states were induced by film clips or music combined with imagination techniques; these kinds of mood manipulations are highly obvious, possibly distorting the actual mood states experienced by the participants. Here, we report two experiments where mood states were induced in a less obvious way, and with higher ecological validity. Participants received success or failure feedback on their performance in a bogus intelligence test, and this mood manipulation proved highly effective. We largely replicated previous findings of larger conflict adaptation under negative mood than under positive mood, both with a Flanker interference paradigm (Experiment 1) and a Stroop-like interference paradigm (Experiment 2). Results are discussed with respect to current theories on affective influences on cognitive control.

The idea that conflict detection triggers control adjustments has been considered a basic principle of cognitive control. So far, this "conflict-control loop" has mainly been investigated in the context of response conflicts in single tasks. In this theoretical position paper, we explore whether, and how, this principle might be involved in multitasking performance, as well. We argue that several kinds of conflict-control loops can be identified in multitasking at multiple levels (e.g., the response level and the task level), and we provide a selective review of empirical observations. We present examples of conflict monitoring and control adjustments in dual-task and task-switching paradigms, followed by a section on error monitoring and posterror adjustments in multitasking. We conclude by outlining future research questions regarding monitoring and control in multitasking, including the potential roles of affect and associative learning for conflict-control loops in multitasking.

In task switching studies, response repetition effects are typically obtained: When the task repeats, response repetitions are faster than response switches (response repetition benefit), but when the task switches, the opposite is found (response repetition cost). Previously, it was found that spatial response distance [RD] affected the response repetitions: separated response keys led to longer reaction times [RT] for response repetitions (in both task repetitions and task switches) than adjacent response keys. The goal of the present study was to replicate this RD effect in a modified setup with auditory stimuli (in Experiments 1 and 2). As we were interested in the temporal dynamics of the RD effect, we also introduced a block-wise manipulation of response-stimulus interval (RSI) in Experiment 2. RD modulated responding, replicating the results of a prior study that used visual stimuli, but only when the RSI was long. With short RSI, the RD effect was not obtained. At the same time, a long RSI led to more pronounced response repetition effects in the error rates. These results imply that response inhibition from the previous trial, which is assumed to contribute to the response repetition effect and to the modulation of responding by response distance, builds up over time.

The present study investigated the influence of mood state (positive vs. negative) on the cognitive control process of conflict adaptation. A task-switching paradigm was applied, allowing to assess conflict adaptation both within tasks and across tasks. A success-failure manipulation was applied for mood induction. Within-task conflict adaptation tended to be larger in negative mood than in positive mood, in line with previous findings in the literature. Across-task conflict adaptation was also observed, but only in the positive mood group: Participants in positive mood showed larger conflict adaptation than participants in negative mood. We suggest that different cognitive mechanisms underlie this double dissociation: Within-task conflict adaptation is enhanced in negative mood because response conflict is aversive in nature, and is therefore congruent to negative mood states. Between-task conflict adaptation is only present in positive mood because of less distinct task representations under positive mood, leading conflict adaptation to transfer to the other task. The data show that influences of mood state on cognitive control are multifaceted, with some control processes being enhanced and others attenuated in negative relative to positive mood. (PsycINFO Database Record

Task inhibition is considered to facilitate switching to a new task and is assumed to decay slowly over time. Hence, more persisting inhibition needs to be overcome when returning to a task after one intermediary trial (ABA task sequence) than when returning after two or more intermediary trials (CBA task sequence). Schuch and Grange (J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn 41:760-767, 2015) put forward the hypothesis that there is higher task conflict in ABA than CBA sequences, leading to increased cognitive control in the subsequent trial. They provided evidence that performance is better in trials following ABA than following CBA task sequences. Here, this effect of the previous task sequence ("N-3 effect") is further investigated by varying the cue-stimulus interval (CSI), allowing for short (100 ms) or long (900 ms) preparation time for the upcoming task. If increased cognitive control after ABA involves a better preparation for the upcoming task, the N-3 effect should be larger with long than short CSI. The results clearly show that this is not the case. In Experiment 1, the N-3 effect was smaller with long than short CSI; in Experiment 2, the N-3 effect was not affected by CSI. Diffusion model analysis confirmed previous results in the literature (regarding the effect of CSI and of the ABA-CBA difference); however, the N-3 effect was not unequivocally associated with any of the diffusion model parameters. In exploratory analysis, we also tested the alternative hypothesis that the N-3 effect involves more effective task shielding, which would be reflected in reduced congruency effects in trials following ABA, relative to trials following CBA; congruency effects did not differ between these conditions. Taken together, we can rule out two potential explanations of the N-3 effect: Neither is this effect due to enhanced task preparation, nor to more effective task shielding.

Conflict adaptation can be measured by the "congruency sequence effect", denoting the reduction of congruency effects after incongruent trials (where response conflict occurs) relative to congruent trials (without response conflict). Recently, it has been reported that conflict adaptation is larger in negative mood than in positive mood (van Steenbergen et al., Psychological Science 21:1629-1634, 2010). We conducted two experiments further investigating this important finding. Two different interference paradigms were applied to measure conflict adaptation: Experiment 1 was a Flanker task, Experiment 2 was a Stroop-like task. To get as pure a measure of conflict adaptation as possible, we minimized the influence of trial-to-trial priming effects by excluding all kinds of stimulus repetitions. Mood states were induced by presenting film clips with emotional content prior to the interference task. Three mood states were manipulated between subjects: amused, anxious, and sad. Across both interference paradigms, we consistently found conflict adaptation in negative, but not in positive mood. Taken together with van Steenbergen et al. (Psychological Science 21:1629-1634, 2010) findings, the results suggest that the negative-mood-triggered increase in conflict adaptation is a general phenomenon that occurs independently of the particular mood-induction procedure and interference paradigm involved.

Ideomotor theory posits that actions are controlled by the anticipation of their effects. In line with this theoretical framework, response-contingent action effects have been shown to influence performance in choice-reaction time tasks, both in single-task and task-switching context. Using a task-switching paradigm, the present study investigated whether task-contingent action effects influenced N - 2 repetition costs in task switching. N - 2 repetition costs are thought to be related to task-switch costs, and reflect inhibitory control in task switching. It was expected that task-contingent action effects reduce between-task interference, leading to reduced N - 2 repetition costs. An experimental group (N = 24) performed eight blocks of trials with task-contingent action effects, followed by one block with non-contingent action effects; a control group (N = 24) performed nine blocks of trials with non-contingent action effects. In line with our expectations, a three-way interaction of group, block, and task sequence was obtained, indicating differential data patterns for the two groups: In error rates, the group who had received contingent action effects throughout blocks 1-8 showed larger N - 2 repetition costs in the random block 9 than in block 8, whereas the control group showed a reversed data pattern. The RT data pattern was in the same direction, although no significant three-way interaction was obtained. Taken together, we tentatively conclude that task-contingent action effects reduce task inhibition in task switching, and we outline directions for future research on the role of action effects in multitasking performance.

The present study investigated whether the processing characteristics of categorizing emotional facial expressions are different from those of categorizing facial age and sex information. Given that emotions change rapidly, it was hypothesized that processing facial expressions involves a more flexible task set that causes less between-task interference than the task sets involved in processing age or sex of a face. Participants switched between three tasks: categorizing a face as looking happy or angry (emotion task), young or old (age task), and male or female (sex task). Interference between tasks was measured by global interference and response interference. Both measures revealed patterns of asymmetric interference. Global between-task interference was reduced when a task was mixed with the emotion task. Response interference, as measured by congruency effects, was larger for the emotion task than for the nonemotional tasks. The results support the idea that processing emotional facial expression constitutes a more flexible task set that causes less interference (i.e., task-set “inertia”) than processing the age or sex of a face

The aim of our study was to examine the role of task preparation and task inhibition in age-related task-switching deficits. In 2 experiments, we used a cuing paradigm with 3 tasks and manipulated the cue-stimulus interval (CSI). Additionally, switching among 3 tasks enabled us to examine n-2 task repetition costs, which reflect persisting inhibition of abandoned tasks. In Experiment 1, we found larger mixing costs (i.e., performance in mixed-task blocks vs. single-task blocks) in older adults than in young adults, and preparation effects were smaller in older adults than in young adults. In Experiment 2, where CSIs were blocked instead of randomly varied, we replicated reduced effects of task preparation in older adults. N-2 task repetition costs were not significant in Experiment 1 but significant in Experiment 2, and these costs did not differ across age groups in both experiments. The data suggest a task-preparation deficit in older adults that contributes to increased mixing costs in older adults.

Previous research into the mechanisms of task switching has shown that repeating the same response in a different task context is associated with costs. To investigate whether such response-repetition costs occur even when the first of the two responses is not overtly executed, we used a variant of the change-signal paradigm. Subjects responded to a first stimulus by pressing a left or right response key. In half of the trials, a second stimulus occurred after a variable, adaptively adjusted delay, indicating to abandon the first response, and only respond to the second stimulus using another set of left and right response keys. In Experiment 1, different tasks had to be performed with the first and second stimulus (task-switch condition); in Experiment 2, the same task had to be performed with both stimuli (task-repetition condition). Response-repetition costs were obtained in Experiment 1, and response-repetition benefits in Experiment 2. Importantly, these costs and benefits were obtained even when the first of the two responses had not been overtly executed. The data support the idea that interference of task-specific response codes occurs at the level of abstract response codes. Interference of such response codes occurs even when the responses are not overtly executed.

When we observe someone shift their gaze to a peripheral event or object, a corresponding shift in our own attention often follows. This social orienting response, joint attention, has been studied in the laboratory using the gaze cueing paradigm. Here, we investigate the combined influence of the emotional content displayed in two critical components of a joint attention episode: The facial expression of the cue face, and the affective nature of the to-be-localized target object. Hence, we presented participants with happy and disgusted faces as cueing stimuli, and neutral (Experiment 1), pleasant and unpleasant (Experiment 2) pictures as target stimuli. The findings demonstrate an effect of ‘emotional context’ confined to participants viewing pleasant pictures. Specifically, gaze cueing was boosted when the emotion of the gazing face (i.e., happy) matched that of the targets (pleasant). Demonstrating modulation by emotional context highlights the vital flexibility that a successful joint attention system requires in order to assist our navigation of the social world.

The concept of inhibition plays a major role in cognitive psychology. In the present article, we review the evidence for the inhibition of task sets. In the first part, we critically discuss empirical findings of task inhibition from studies that applied variants of the task-switching methodology and argue that most of these findings— such as switch cost asymmetries—are ambiguous. In the second part, we focus on n-22 task-repetition costs, which currently constitute the most convincing evidence for inhibition of task sets. n-22 repetition costs refer to the performance impairment in sequences of the ABA type relative to CBA, which can be interpreted in terms of persisting inhibition of previously abandoned tasks. The available evidence suggests that inhibition is primarily triggered by conflict at selection of stimulus attributes and at the response level. Author Note

In 5 experiments, the authors investigated the costs associated with repeating the same or a similar response in a dual-task setting. Using a psychological refractory period paradigm, they obtained response-repetition costs when the cognitive representation of a specific response (i.e., the category-response mapping) changed (Experiment 1) but benefits when it did not change (Experiment 2). The analogous pattern of results was found for conceptually similar (i.e. compatible) responses. Response-response compatibility costs occurred when the cognitive representations of the compatible responses were different (Experiments 3A & 3B), but compatibility benefits occurred when they were the same (Experiment 4). The authors interpret the costs of repeating an identical or compatible response in terms of a general mechanism of action selection that involves coding the task-specific meaning of a response.

Response selection in task shifting was explored using a go/no-go methodology. The no-go signal occurred unpredictably with stimulus onset so that all trials required task preparation but only go trials required response selection. Experiment 1 showed that shift costs were absent after no-go trials, indicating that response processes are crucial for shift costs. In Experiment 2, backward inhibition was absent after no-go trials. Experiments 3 and 4 demonstrated that response selection, rather than execution, causes backward inhibition. All 4 experiments showed effects of preparation time in go trials, suggesting that advance preparation must have also occurred in no-go trials. The authors concluded that inhibition of irrelevant task sets arises only at response selection and that residual shift costs reflect such persisting inhibition.

N-2 task repetition cost is a response time and error cost returning to a task recently performed after one intervening trial (i.e., an ABA task sequence) compared with returning to a task not recently performed (i.e., a CBA task sequence). This cost is considered a robust measure of inhibitory control during task switching. The present article reports a novel sequential effect of n-2 task repetitions when trial n-3 is taken into consideration. In particular, performance is better in trials preceded by an n-2 repetition than in trials preceded by an n-2 switch. That is, performance is better in BABA sequences (where trial n-1 was an n-2 repetition) than in CABA sequences (where trial n-1 was an n-2 switch). Likewise, performance is better in BCBA (where trial n-1 was an n-2 repetition) than in ACBA or DCBA sequences (where trial n-1 was an n-2 switch). Evidence for this new n-3 effect is provided by a mini meta-analysis of a set of published data, as well as 2 new experiments applying a different paradigm. We suggest that this new effect reflects trial-by-trial modulation of cognitive control: Task conflict is higher in n-2 repetitions than in n-2 switches; therefore, cognitive control is increased in trials following n-2 repetitions, leading to improved performance. This facilitating effect of previous task conflict is discussed with respect to current theories on cognitive control.

Perceiving another individual’s actions activates the human motor system. We investigated whether this effect is stronger when the observed action is relevant to the observer’s task. The mu rhythm (oscillatory activity in the 8- to 13-Hz band over sensorimotor cortex) was measured while participants watched videos of grasping movements. In one of two conditions, the participants had to later report how many times they had seen a certain kind of grasp. In the other condition, they viewed the identical videos but had to later report how many times they had seen a certain colour change. The colour change and the grasp always occurred simultaneously. Results show mu rhythm attenuation when watching the videos relative to baseline. This attenuation was stronger when participants later reported the grasp rather than the colour, suggesting that the motor system is more strongly activated when the observed grasping actions were relevant to the observer’s task. Moreover, when the graspable object disappeared after the offset of the video, there was subsequent mu rhythm enhancement, reflecting a post-stimulus inhibitory rebound. This enhancement was again stronger when making judgments about the grasp than the colour, suggesting that the stronger activation is followed by a stronger inhibitory rebound.

In task switching, response repetitions typically lead to performance benefits for task repetitions but costs for task switches. We examined whether this cost-benefit pattern is affected by response discriminability (RD), varying (a) the anatomical response separation (within-hand vs. between-hand responses) and (b) the spatial separation (close vs. far response keys). We assumed that anatomical RD increases response competition generally, whereas spatial RD increases the salience of left-right coding and thus facilitates response selection. In two experiments, we found that spatial RD increased the response-repetition costs in task switches but similarly decreased the response-repetition benefit in task repetitions. The effect of spatial RD was response-specific but did not interact with task switching. This data pattern is consistent with a recent account that proposed that facilitated response selection increases response "self-inhibition" after response execution. In contrast, the influence of anatomical RD primarily consisted of an overall increase of reaction-time level in all conditions, whereas error rates decreased, suggesting a general shift in response criterion. Taken together, the data suggest that a self-inhibition mechanism on the level of motor response codes contributes to response-repetition effects in task switching, which is possibly independent of task-specific mechanisms of strengthening of associations.

It was investigated whether an observer would simulate another person’s inhibitory and error processes. Two participants sitting next to each other performed a stop signal task in which they occasionally had to try and inhibit their response when indicated to do so by a stop signal. They could either successfully stop the response or fail to stop and, thereby, make an error. An aftereffect of the other person’s successful action inhibition and error was obtained: The participants became slower and more accurate when they observed the other person make an error on the previous trial and when they observed a successful stop. The results suggest that observing another person successfully inhibit an action or make an error evokes processes similar to those that occur when these behaviors are produced.

It is controversially discussed whether or not mood-congruent recall (i.e., superior recall for mood-congruent material) reflects memory encoding processes or reduces to processes during retrieval. We therefore investigated the neurophysiological correlates of mood-dependent memory during emotional word encoding. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while participants in good or bad mood states encoded words of positive and negative valence. Words were either complete or had to be generated from fragments. Participants had to memorize words for subsequent recall. Mood-congruent recall tended to be largest in good mood for generated words. Starting at 200 ms, mood-congruent ERP effects of word valence were obtained in good, but not in bad mood. Only for good mood, source analysis revealed valence-related activity in ventral temporal cortex and for generated words also in prefrontal cortex. These areas are known to be involved in semantic processing. Our findings are consistent with the view that mood-congruent recall depends on the activation of mood-congruent semantic knowledge during encoding. Incoming stimuli are more readily transformed according to stored knowledge structures in good mood particularly during generative encoding tasks. The present results therefore show that mood-congruent memory originates already during encoding and cannot be reduced to strategic processes during retrieval.

The present research investigated the influences of emotional mood states on cognitive processes and neural circuits during long-term memory encoding using event-related potentials (ERPs). We assessed whether the subsequent memory effect (SME), an electrophysiological index of successful memory encoding, varies as a function of participants’ current mood state. ERPs were recorded while participants in good or bad mood states were presented with words that had to be memorized for subsequent recall. In contrast to participants in bad mood, participants in good mood most frequently applied elaborative encoding styles. At the neurophysiological level, ERP analyses showed that potentials to subsequently recalled words were more positive than to forgotten words at central electrodes in the time interval of 500-650 ms after stimulus onset (SME). At fronto-central electrodes, a polarityreversed SME was obtained. The strongest modulations of the SME by participants’ mood state were obtained at fronto-temporal electrodes. These differences in the scalp topography of the SME suggest that successful recall relies on partially separable neural circuits for good and bad mood states. The results are consistent with theoretical accounts of the interface between emotion and cognition that propose mood-dependent cognitive styles.

We investigated if task switching affects late response processes that occur after the selection of a response. Subjects performed a sequence of two responses. The first and second response were selected, and then executed in close succession. The interresponse interval (IRI) was taken as a measure of late response processes. The two responses could either belong to different tasks (task-switch condition), or to the same task that was performed twice (task-repetition condition). In all three experiments, the IRI was found to be longer in the task-switch condition than in the task-repetition condition, consistent with the idea that task switching affected late response processes. However, the effects of the manipulation of the stimulus-onset asynchrony revealed that the tendency to perform the two responses as a sequence was reduced in the task-switch condition relative to the task-repetition condition. Thus, the data do not provide unequivocal evidence for task switching affecting late response processes. The data show, however, that task switching affected action sequencing. Two actions that do not belong to the same task context are less likely to be performed as an action sequence. We suggest that task switching interacts with higher-order control processes that cannot be studied within the traditional task-switching paradigm.

Two experiments explore interference in dual tasks. The first task required perceptual judgment of the movement direction (left vs right) of a briefly presented stimulus; the second task was a tone-discrimination reaction-time (RT) task. Participants reported their judgment at leisure. In 50% of the trials they were told to ignore the stimulus (no report). The directions of stimulus movement and response in the RT task could either be the same or different, establishing cross-task compatibility (CTC) relations. We varied the degree of temporal unpredictability by using two stimulus-onset asynchronies (SOA, 100 ms vs 1200 ms) for the task stimuli. In Experiment 1, SOA was varied randomly within blocks of trials in one group and between blocks in another group. In Experiment 2, only the short SOA was used in one group and only the long SOA in another group. In both experiments, we observed substantially longer RTs with the short compared with the long SOA, regardless of whether there was temporal certainty (blocked or constant SOA) or uncertainty (random SOA) about stimulus onset. We assume that the process of encoding into short-term memory in one task interferes with concurrent retrieval processes (i.e., response selection) in the other task. This process interference effect was strongly reduced in no-report trials. Furthermore, we found shorter RT in compatible than in incompatible trials. This CTC effect diminished with long SOA but occurred even in no-report trials, implying that it refers to an automatically activated and then decaying code that primes response selection in the RT task.