The surprising role of stimulus modality in the dual-task introspective blind spot: a memory account

Bryce, Donna; Bratzke, Daniel · 2021 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1007/s00426-021-01545-y

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Summary

This study investigates the "introspective blind spot" in dual-task performance, a phenomenon where individuals fail to perceive the reaction time costs associated with processing two tasks concurrently. Previous research attributed this unawareness to a "conscious bottleneck," positing that attentional limits prevent the conscious perception of the second stimulus while the first task is being processed. The authors challenge this view by conducting a series of six introspective Psychological Refractory Period (PRP) experiments to identify the determinants of introspective accuracy. The experimental design involved participants performing two choice reaction time tasks with varying stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs). Crucially, the study systematically manipulated the sensory modality of the stimuli (auditory vs. visual) and the order in which they were presented. After each trial, participants used a timeline method to reconstruct the subjective timing of events, providing estimates for reaction times and total trial duration. This method allowed for a detailed analysis of introspective accuracy compared to objective reaction times. The experiments varied whether the first stimulus (S1) was auditory and the second (S2) visual, or vice versa, while also manipulating task difficulty to test assumptions of the conscious bottleneck model. The results revealed a surprising dependency on stimulus modality. In experiments where S1 was auditory and S2 was visual, participants exhibited the classic introspective blind spot, showing no awareness of the dual-task costs. However, in experiments where S1 was visual and S2 was auditory, participants demonstrated significant awareness of the performance costs, accurately reflecting the PRP effect in their introspective reports. This pattern held regardless of task difficulty manipulations. Furthermore, single-trial analyses indicated that introspective accuracy was influenced by the specific sensory modalities involved and temporal gaps, rather than just attentional bottlenecks. These findings contradict the amodal conscious bottleneck model, which predicts unawareness regardless of stimulus type. Instead, the authors propose a memory-based account of introspection. They argue that introspective accuracy is determined by the memory systems involved in encoding and rehearsing memory traces, which are modality-specific. The visual-auditory order likely facilitates better memory encoding or retrieval of the trial's timeline, allowing for accurate introspection. This suggests that the relationship between attention and consciousness is more complex than previously thought, with memory processes playing a critical role in how we monitor our own performance in multitasking contexts.

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• dual task multitasking