Freely-selected and forced-choice responses bind with relevant object-occupied locations in visuospatial tasks.

Abstract

Past work has shown that cued manual responses in visuo-identity tasks bind to irrelevant stimulus features, present at the time these responses were executed (prime trial). These response bindings manifested their existence via impacts on later related processing (probe trial). Here, we extended this prior research by showing that response binding is likely a pervasive processing characteristic. We saw that uncertain prime-trial responses (i.e., free-choice, forced-choice) did bind to the relevant "location" feature of the prime stimulus in a visuospatial task (i.e., R-L binding). Overall, R-L binding evidence was better for within-hand than for between-hand probe-trial finger competitions and better for probe trial response selection preferences than for their reaction time (RT) data. R-L binding evidence was entirely absent, however, for forced-choice probe trials. Evidence that the prime response binds to irrelevant prime display features (i.e., prime stimulus identity [R-I binding]) was virtually absent. Other results indicated that R-I likely exists, but that its probe-trial manifestation is prevented by the involvement of R-L binding. Response binding impacts on later processing should be considered when interpreting RT data. Public Significance StatementAutomatic brain processing occurs without our awareness, is common place, and is often integral to everyday successful living (sport, walking, driving a car, etc.). With this and other studies, we are now seeing that "automatic" processing includes the binding of a response to the visual events present at the time these responses are chosen and executed. What this means is that when these same visual events appear later, they bring along (automatically retrieve) their attached response(s) which can have positive or negative influences on current processing; an understanding of these influences is required to properly understand current processing.

Detecting Target Identity—Location/Response Binding in Visuo-spatial Tasks Using a Cueing Procedure: An Exploratory Study

“…Recently, Kajaste and Buckolz (2017) extended the earlier binding results produced with visual identity tasks to visual location-based tasks, where the relevant feature of the designated target object determining response selection is its spatial position. Specifically, Kajaste and Buckolz demonstrated that during the course of prime trial processing, the selected response binds to the relevant location occupied by the prime target object and, less consistently, to the irrelevant target's identity.…”