Elsevier

Acta Psychologica

Volume 74, Issues 2–3, August 1990, Pages 169-210
Acta Psychologica

Selective response activation can begin before stimulus recognition is complete: A psychophysiological and error analysis of continuous flow

https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-6918(90)90005-ZGet rights and content

Abstract

In discussions of process models of human information processing, the continuous flow conception (Eriksen and Schultz 1979) plays a prominent role. A central prediction of this conception is that any information in a display associated with a response activates that response as soon as it becomes available in the perceptual system. If it concerns the correct response channel, then response facilitation occurs. If it concerns the incorrect response channel, then response competition occurs.

To assess these mechanisms more directly, we used psychophysiological measures as well as reaction time (RT). We used the latency of the P3 component of the event related brain potential (ERP) as an index of stimulus evaluation duration, the onset of lateralized motor activity derived from the ERP as an index of selective central motor activation, and the onset of electromyographic activity as an index of the start of peripheral motor activation. Subjects were required to respond to target letters that were either flanked by letters that signalled the opposite response (incompatible arrays), by the target itself (compatible arrays), by letters not associated with a response (neutral arrays), or by no other letters (targets alone).

Our results replicated the basic findings obtained in this paradigm. RTs to targets alone did not differ from RTs to compatible arrays. The latter were faster than RTs to neutral arrays, which were faster than RTs to incompatible arrays. P3 latencies were longer on incompatible than on neutral trials, and longer on compatible than on target alone trials. Incorrect central response activation on incompatible trials and correct central response activation on compatible trials, both began earlier than on target alone trials. Peripheral responding on both trial types, however, began later than on target alone trials. More incompatible but less compatible trials than neutral ones exhibited incorrect peripheral response activation. Peripheral response execution was faster and more accurate on compatible than on target alone trials, while it was slower and less accurate on incompatible than on neutral trials.

These results indicate, that the flankers activated their associated response channel while display evaluation was still going on, and that response facilitation and competition occurred. After applying criteria proposed by Miller (1988), it was concluded that the set of stimulus recognition processes and the set of response activation processes cannot be regarded as independent stages of processing.

References (23)

  • C.W. Eriksen et al.

    Target redundancy in visual search: Do repetitions of the target within the display impair processing?

    Perception and Psychophysics

    (1979)
  • Cited by (153)

    • On the locus of the effect of alerting on response conflict: An event-related EEG study with a speed-accuracy tradeoff manipulation

      2019, Biological Psychology
      Citation Excerpt :

      In the ERP measurement, this alerting-conflict interaction was reflected in the modulations of two components: P3b and LRP. The P3b latencies were longer and the P3b amplitudes were smaller in the incongruent condition than in the congruent condition, which replicates the previous findings (Kałamała et al., 2017, 2018; Neuhaus et al., 2010; Osman et al., 2000; Smid et al., 1990). This result conforms to our presumption that response conflict delays the S-R translation and activation of the correct S-R link (as reflected in P3b, see the introduction).

    • Sleep deprivation affects the sensitivity of proactive and reactive action monitoring: A behavioural and ERP analysis

      2013, Biological Psychology
      Citation Excerpt :

      Reaction Time Distribution and EMG patterns analyses under speed-stress allow to dissociate two complementary modes of action monitoring that contribute to response accuracy that will be respectively termed “reactive control” and “proactive control” in what follows. On numerous trials, the overt correct response is preceded by a covert incorrect response which can be evidenced by the presence of a subthreshold EMG burst associated with the incorrect response (Smid et al., 1990). These so-called “partial errors” are successfully suppressed, preventing a full performance error (Burle et al., 2002).

    • Response-repetition costs in task switching: How they are modulated by previous-trial response-category activation

      2012, Acta Psychologica
      Citation Excerpt :

      The result that RR costs did not differ after responses to congruent stimuli compared to those after responses to neutral stimuli could indicate that response-category activations were rather similar for neutral and congruent stimuli. This view is in line with LRP studies that failed to find coactivation of responses to redundant visual signals (Mordkoff, Miller, & Roch, 1996; but see, Mattler, 2003; Smid, Mulder, & Mulder, 1990). However, this would not undermine the interpretation of the present results regarding the two alternative hypotheses.

    View all citing articles on Scopus

    We wish to thank Mike Coles, Maurits van der Molen, Jeff Miller and Gabriele Gratton for their comments on earlier versions of this paper. We especially thank one anonymous reviewer for his/her suggestions which greatly improved the structure and language of this paper.

    View full text