Task frequency influences stimulus-driven effects on task selection during voluntary task switching

Arrington, Catherine M.; Reiman, Kaitlin M. · 2015 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.3758/s13423-014-0777-0

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Summary

This study investigates how the relative frequency of task performance influences the balance between top-down (goal-directed) and bottom-up (stimulus-driven) mechanisms during voluntary task switching (VTS). In multitask environments, task selection is driven by an interplay of intentional goals and environmental cues. While previous research established that stimulus availability affects task choice, it remained unclear how the frequency with which tasks are performed modulates this bottom-up influence. The authors hypothesized that when goal-directed mechanisms are engaged less frequently, the relative influence of the stimulus environment on task selection would increase. To test this, the researchers conducted two experiments using a VTS paradigm where participants chose between an even/odd judgment (number) and a consonant/vowel judgment (letter) on bivalent stimuli. Stimulus availability was operationalized via varying stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs) between the two stimuli. In Experiment 1, sixteen participants were instructed to perform tasks at specific frequencies (50/50, 60/40, or 75/25) while maintaining unpredictability. In Experiment 2, sixty-six participants performed the same tasks without frequency instructions, allowing for naturally occurring variations in task selection bias. The primary dependent measure was the probability of selecting the task associated with the first-appearing stimulus, p(S1), which serves as a marker for stimulus-driven selection. The results from both experiments supported the hypothesis. In Experiment 1, the effect of stimulus availability was significantly stronger for the less frequent task compared to the more frequent task, particularly in the 60/40 and 75/25 conditions. Similarly, in Experiment 2, where task frequencies emerged naturally from participant preference, the less frequently performed task showed a larger bias toward the first-appearing stimulus than the more frequently performed task. Across both studies, p(S1) values increased with longer SOAs, but this bottom-up effect was consistently more pronounced for tasks that were performed less often. These findings indicate that task frequency modulates the strength of stimulus-driven effects on task selection. When a task is performed less frequently, top-down goals are less likely to be established prior to stimulus onset, leaving task selection more vulnerable to bottom-up environmental cues. This aligns with executive control theories of visual attention, suggesting that top-down bias parameters dampen the impact of bottom-up evidence when goals are strongly instantiated. The study concludes that in real-world multitask environments, infrequent tasks may be particularly susceptible to environmental distractions, highlighting the dynamic interplay between intentional control and stimulus-driven automaticity.

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• task switching