On the importance of being first: Serial order effects in the interaction between action plans and ongoing actions

When we plan sequences of actions, we must hold some elements of the sequence in working memory (WM) while we execute others. Research shows that execution of an action can be delayed if it partly overlaps (vs. does not overlap) with another action plan maintained in WM (partial repetition cost). Ho...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychonomic bulletin & review 2014-02, Vol.21 (1), p.163-169
Main Authors: Fournier, Lisa R., Gallimore, Jonathan M., Feiszli, Kevin R., Logan, Gordon D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activity levels. Psychomotricity
Adult
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Biological and medical sciences
Brief Report
Cognitive Psychology
Costs
Executive Function - physiology
Free agency
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Guidelines
Human
Humans
Learning. Memory
Memory
Memory, Short-Term - physiology
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Psychomotor activities
Psychomotor Performance - physiology
Young Adult
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Summary:When we plan sequences of actions, we must hold some elements of the sequence in working memory (WM) while we execute others. Research shows that execution of an action can be delayed if it partly overlaps (vs. does not overlap) with another action plan maintained in WM (partial repetition cost). However, it is not known whether all features of the action maintained in WM interfere equally with current actions. Most serial models of memory and action assume that interference will be equal, because all action features in the sequence should be activated to an equal degree in parallel; others assume that action features earlier in the sequence will interfere more than those later in the sequence, because earlier features will be more active. Using a partial repetition paradigm, this study examined whether serial position of action features in action sequences maintained in WM have an influence on current actions. Two stimulus events occurred in a sequence, and participants planned and maintained an action sequence to the first event (action A) in WM while executing a speeded response to the second event (action B). Results showed delayed execution of action B when it matched the first feature in the action A sequence (partial repetition cost), but not when it matched the last feature. These findings suggest that serial order is represented in the action plan prior to response execution, consistent with models that assume that serial order is represented by a primacy gradient of parallel feature activation prior to action execution.
ISSN:1069-9384
1531-5320
DOI:10.3758/s13423-013-0486-0