Consciousness and control in task switching

Nachshon Meiran, Bernhard Hommel, Uri Bibi, Idit Lev

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

34 Scopus citations

Abstract

Participants were required to switch among randomly ordered tasks, and instructional cues were used to indicate which task to execute. In Experiments 1 and 2, the participants indicated their readiness for the task switch before they received the target stimulus; thus, each trial was associated with two primary dependent measures: (1) readiness time and (2) target reaction time. Slow readiness responses and instructions emphasizing high readiness were paradoxically accompanied by slow target reaction time. Moreover, the effect of task switching on readiness time was an order of magnitude smaller then the (objectively estimated) duration required for task preparation (Experiment 3). The results strongly suggest that participants have little conscious awareness of their preparedness and challenge commonly accepted assumptions concerning the role of consciousness in cognitive control.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)10-33
Number of pages24
JournalConsciousness and Cognition
Volume11
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2002

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology

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