Defining task set reconfiguration: The case of reference point switching

Schneider, Darryl W.; Logan, Gordon D.

doi:10.1037/e527352012-424

Cited by 15 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…In fact, the results presented here are consistent with various interpretations of left MFG activity, including that it may manifest change detection (e.g., Pessoa & Ungerleider, 2004) and/or the redirecting of attention (e.g., Gazzaley et al, 2007; Miller & Cohen, 2001). In fact, all of these processes may contribute to task switching (see Schneider & Logan, 2007). However, it is also possible that activation of the left MFG may not even be necessary for task switching to occur.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Does White Matter Matter? Spatio-temporal Dynamics of Task Switching in Aging

Gratton¹,

Wee²,

Rykhlevskaia³

et al. 2009

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience

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Older adults often encounter difficulties in switching between tasks, perhaps because of agerelated decreases in executive function. Executive function may largely depend on connections between brain areas-connections that may become structurally and functionally weaker in aging.Here we investigated functional and structural age-related changes in switching between a spatial and a verbal task. These tasks were chosen because they are expected to differentially use the two hemispheres. Brain measures included anatomical information about anterior corpus callosum size (CC; the major commissure linking the left and right hemisphere), and the event-related optical signal (EROS). Behavioral results indicated that older adults had greater task-switching difficulties, which, however, were largely restricted to switching to the spatial task and to individuals with smaller anterior CCs. The EROS data showed both general switching-related activity in the left middle frontal gyrus (with approximately 300-msec latency) and task-specific activity in the inferior frontal gyrus, lateralized to the left for the switch-to-verbal condition and to the right for the switch-to-spatial condition. This lateralization was most evident in younger adults. In older adults, activity in the switch-to-spatial condition was lateralized to the right hemisphere in individuals with large CC, and to the left in individuals with small CC. These data suggest that (a) task switching may involve both task-general and task-specific processes; and (b) white matter changes may underlie some of the age-related problems in switching. These effects are discussed in terms of the hypothesis that aging involves some degree of cortical disconnection, both functional and anatomical.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We are currently exploring task-switching paradigms involving other dimensions (Gratton et al, 2008). Third, the task-switching conditions used here were confounded with other variables (such as cue change vs. cue repetition; see Schneider & Logan, 2007). This makes the interpretation of some of the findings ambiguous.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does White Matter Matter? Spatio-temporal Dynamics of Task Switching in Aging

Gratton¹,

Wee²,

Rykhlevskaia³

et al. 2009

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience

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“…A key question for reconfiguration theorists is how task sets are specified: what are the states of preparation that enable task performance? Despite the broad appeal of the concept of reconfiguration, few theorists have been very specific about what task sets consist of and few researchers have investigated changes in specific components of task sets (but see Logan, 2005;Schneider & Logan, 2007a). …”

Section: Defining Reconfigurationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Logan (2005) applied Logan and Bundesen's (2003) reconfiguration model and compound-cue retrieval model to a task that required switching attention from one location to another and found that the reconfiguration model fit the data better. Schneider and Logan (2007a) had subjects switch between two reference points in magnitude judgments of digits and found reference-point switching effects that they interpreted as reconfiguration. In terms of ITAM, their data could be modelled by changing β values for High and Low response categories, which would meet the ECTVA definition of reconfiguration (Logan & Gordon, 2001;Vandierendonck et al, 2010).…”

Section: Where Might We Find Reconfiguration?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, they can be grounded in computational models of the specific tasks subjects switch between. Thus, a task set may be defined as a set of parameters in a computational model that is sufficient to program the model to perform particular task-relevant computations (Logan & Gordon, 2001;Schneider & Logan, 2007a;Vandierendonck et al, 2010). In this definition, reconfiguration involves changing model parameters to reprogram the model to perform different computations.…”

Section: Reconfiguration and Computational Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Distinguishing Reconfiguration and Compound-cue Retrieval in Task Switching

Logan¹,

Schneider²

2010

PSYCHOL BELG

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Many researchers claim that task switching requires reconfiguration of the cognitive system. Others claim that task switching involves cue-based memory retrieval processes and not reconfiguration. We evaluate these competing claims by developing both reconfiguration and cue-based memory models in a common theoretical framework and by fitting the models to target functions, which show how performance on individual target stimuli varies depending on the task subjects perform on the targets. Our analyses show that the process of compound-cue retrieval -using the task cue and the target as joint retrieval cues to select a response from memory -is sufficient to explain target functions for parity and magnitude judgments of digits and that reconfiguration does not seem to add anything to the explanation. We address the generality of this conclusion and speculate about the conditions under which reconfiguration may be necessary for task switching.

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A memory-based model of Hick’s law

Schneider

Anderson

2011

Cognitive Psychology

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We propose and evaluate a memory-based model of Hick's law, the approximately linear increase in choice reaction time with the logarithm of set size (the number of stimulus-response alternatives). According to the model, Hick's law reflects a combination of associative interference during retrieval from declarative memory and occasional savings for stimulusresponse repetitions due to non-retrieval. Fits to existing data sets show that the model accounts for the basic set-size effect, changes in the set-size effect with practice, and stimulus-response repetition effects that challenge the information-theoretic view of Hick's law. We derive the model's prediction of an interaction between set size, stimulus fan (the number of responses associated with a particular stimulus), and stimulus-response transition, which is subsequently tested and confirmed in two experiments. Collectively, the results support the core structure of the model and its explanation of Hick's law in terms of basic memory effects. KeywordsHick's law; choice reaction time; memory; fan effect; cognitive modeling Choice reaction time (RT) has been of interest to cognitive psychologists for well over 50 years. In a typical choice RT paradigm, a set of stimuli is associated with a set of responses, usually with a one-to-one mapping of stimuli onto responses. A stimulus is presented on each trial and the task is to choose the corresponding response, with correct RT serving as the primary dependent measure. Research involving this paradigm has revealed that as set size (the number of stimulus-response alternatives) increases, RT becomes longer (e.g., Hick, 1952;Hyman, 1953;Merkel, 1885; for reviews, see Luce, 1986, Chapter 10;E. E. Smith, 1968;Teichner & Krebs, 1974;Welford, 1960). More specifically, there is an approximately linear increase in RT with the logarithm of set size (n):(1) Figure 1 shows fits of Equation 1 to four representative data sets. The close match between Equation 1 (or variants of it) and the empirical set-size effect has led to both being referred to interchangeably as Hick's law (after Hick, 1952). Hick's law seems to be one of the few "laws" that exist in cognitive psychology and it is a benchmark effect in the study of choice RT (Luce, 1986;E. E. Smith, 1968;Teichner & Krebs, 1974;Welford, 1960).Address correspondence to: Darryl W. Schneider, Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA, Phone: 1-412-334-7758, dws@cmu.edu. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptCogn Psychol. Author manuscript; avai...

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Defining task set reconfiguration: The case of reference point switching

Cited by 15 publications

References 8 publications

Does White Matter Matter? Spatio-temporal Dynamics of Task Switching in Aging

Does White Matter Matter? Spatio-temporal Dynamics of Task Switching in Aging

Distinguishing Reconfiguration and Compound-cue Retrieval in Task Switching

A memory-based model of Hick’s law

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