On the Role of Dissipating Inhibition in Task Switching

Vandierendonck, André · 2013 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1027/2151-2604/a000131

archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified

Get this paper ↗ (DOI — opens at the source; we link to it, we don't host it)

Summary

This paper critically evaluates the hypothesis that the lag-2 repetition cost in task switching is caused by the dissipating inhibition of previously active task sets. The lag-2 repetition cost, a robust phenomenon where reaction times (RTs) are slower for ABA sequences compared to CBA sequences in three-task switching, has been widely attributed to residual inhibition of the task set inhibited two trials prior. Mayr and Keele (2000) proposed that inhibition is temporary and diminishes over time. The author argues that this account makes two specific empirical predictions: first, that switch costs should decrease as the number of tasks involved in switching increases; and second, that a lag-2 repetition cost should also be observable in two-task switching scenarios. The paper demonstrates that neither prediction is supported by existing empirical evidence or new experimental data. To test the first implication, the author analyzes literature regarding switching among many tasks. If inhibition dissipates, RTs should be slower in lag-2 sequences than lag-3 sequences, and slower in lag-3 sequences than in sequences with no repetition. Consequently, average switch costs should be smaller in four-task procedures than in three-task procedures. However, existing studies contradict this prediction. Some research indicates increased switch costs with more tasks, while others find no difference. Specifically, when task frequency and recency are controlled, switch costs do not differ based on the number of tasks, directly opposing the dissipating inhibition hypothesis. To test the second implication, the author presents data from two unpublished experiments involving two-task switching. These experiments used explicit cues with manual or vocal task identification responses to separate cue processing from target processing. The study compared ABA sequences against BBA sequences to isolate the lag-2 repetition cost. While significant task-switch costs were observed (95 ms in Experiment 1 and 74 ms in Experiment 2), the lag-2 repetition cost was negligible (3 ms and 7 ms, respectively) and statistically non-significant. Furthermore, analyzing RTs based on the number of intervening repetitions of the B-task revealed no reliable differences, indicating that the time since inhibition did not affect performance. The findings suggest that the dissipation of inhibition over trials does not contribute to task switch costs in two-task switching and is inconsistent with data from multi-task switching. The author concludes that the dissipating inhibition hypothesis is difficult to defend as an account of the lag-2 repetition cost. Alternative explanations are proposed, including strategic choices such as biasing task-set retrieval or trusting expectations about task sequences, as well as temporal distinctiveness driving the cost. The paper calls for further research to resolve the debate regarding the mechanisms underlying task switching costs.

Provenance

The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed.

Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-25; verification: verified.

Topics

Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.

• task switching