Repetition priming in task switching: Do the benefits dissipate?

Altmann, Erik M. · 2005 · Crossref

DOI: 10.3758/bf03193801

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Summary

This paper investigates the mechanism behind the reduction of switch costs in task-switching paradigms when the response–cue interval (RCI) is increased. Specifically, it tests the prevailing hypothesis that repetition priming—a passive process facilitating performance on repeated tasks—dissipates over time, thereby causing switch costs to decrease as the interval between trials lengthens. The author challenges this view by examining whether the effect is robust across different experimental designs or if it is an artifact of within-participants manipulations. The study comprises four experiments using an explicit-cuing paradigm where participants judged either the height or width of rectangles based on a preceding cue. Experiments 1 and 2 manipulated the RCI within participants, using intervals of 100 vs. 800 msec and 100 vs. 1,600 msec, respectively. Experiments 3 and 4 mirrored these conditions but manipulated the RCI between participants, ensuring each participant experienced only one interval length. This design allowed for a direct comparison of how exposure to multiple RCI levels influences performance. The results revealed a critical interaction between experimental design and the RCI effect. In the within-participants experiments (1 and 2), switch costs decreased significantly as the RCI increased, replicating previous findings. However, in the between-participants experiments (3 and 4), the RCI had no significant effect on switch cost; in fact, switch costs tended to be slightly higher or unchanged in the longer RCI conditions. Cross-experiment analyses confirmed that the RCI × continuity interaction was significant only when RCI was manipulated within participants. Furthermore, the pattern of response times did not uniformly support the dissipation hypothesis, as some reductions in switch cost were driven by faster switch trials rather than slower repeat trials. The findings suggest that the reduction of switch cost with longer RCIs is not caused by the passive dissipation of repetition priming, which appears more stable over time than previously thought. Instead, the effect is likely driven by strategic processes, such as phasic alertness or preparatory mechanisms, that are sensitive to the experimental context. The absence of the effect in between-participants designs indicates that the system’s response to RCI is moderated by exposure to multiple interval lengths, challenging the interpretation of priming dissipation as the primary source of switch cost dynamics.

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• task switching