Abstract for the Annual Meeting of the Psychonomic Society<BR>
Vancouver, Canada, 2003<BR>
<BR>
<B>Additive Factor Logic Used To Reveal Monkey Preparation Strategy In
a Task-switching Paradigm</B><BR>
<BR>
Gijsbert Stoet and Lawrence H. Snyder<BR>
<BR>
Humans can rapidly switch between applying different stimulus-response
(S-R) mappings. Task-switching studies have revealed that switching
between S-R mappings requires preparation time: with increasing delay
intervals between task-cue and imperative stimulus, reaction time and
error-rate decrease. Yet, it is unclear whether it is the preparation
for the S-R mapping or the sensory encoding of the task-cue that
benefits from a longer delay. Whereas research on adult humans might
use introspective reports to reveal the nature of processing during
the cue-stimulus interval, this is impossible in non-verbal subject
populations, including animals. We trained two rhesus monkeys on a
task-switching paradigm and manipulated cue-stimulus interval and
sensory features of the task-cues. Using additive factor logic we
found that monkeys do use the cue-stimulus interval for active
preparation of the upcoming S-R mapping.