Psychology Colloquia

Abstract:: Getting into the appropriate "set" to perform a particular cognitive task involves a complex interaction of endogenous (voluntary) control, exogenous triggering by stimuli and contexts, and the recency and frequency with which tasks afforded by the stimulus have been performed. In the last decade this interaction has been probed by psychologists and neuroscientists with experimental paradigms which cue frequent shifts between tasks. Such experiments usually reveal a substantial cost to performance of having to switch tasks (or a benefit of repeating the same task). This "switch cost" is reduced (but not eliminated) given time to prepare for a change of task, and the reduction has been taken as an index of an endogenous control process of task-set reconfiguration. I will defend this interpretation against recent challenges from both behavioral and neuroimaging research, and describe the evolution of a task-cuing paradigm which appears to capture an endogenous TSR process more securely. I will then describe ERP data obtained using this paradigm which (we think) identify a neural signature of a task-set reconfiguration process performed before the stimulus when a change of task has been signalled and time permits, and after the stimulus onset if time did not permit or the anticipatory reconfiguration was unsuccessful.
About the Speaker:: Over the last decade I have been investigating the performance costs of switching between simple cognitive tasks, as a way of studying processes of task-set reconfiguration and the interactions between "executive" control, stimulus-driven activation of task-sets, and the recency and familiarity of tasks. Issues include: the cueing of task-set preparation; the role of verbal processes in, and the effect of the strength and compatibility of stimulus-action mappings on, the reconfiguration of task-set; the role of stimulus affordances and stimulus-specific associations in task-set control; inhibitory processes.

For More Information About This Speaker:

http://psynet.ex.ac.uk/stafflist/profile.php?id=920
Dr. Monsell's webpage at the University of Exeter.

University of California, San Diego
Homepage Calendar Directions Past Events Psych Homepage UCSD Homepage	The Department of Psychology is Honored to Present a Talk by Stephen Monsell University of Exeter "Preparing Mind and Brain for a Change of Task" Presented on December 1, 2005 Location: The Crick Conference Room Mandler Hall, room 3545 Abstract: Getting into the appropriate "set" to perform a particular cognitive task involves a complex interaction of endogenous (voluntary) control, exogenous triggering by stimuli and contexts, and the recency and frequency with which tasks afforded by the stimulus have been performed. In the last decade this interaction has been probed by psychologists and neuroscientists with experimental paradigms which cue frequent shifts between tasks. Such experiments usually reveal a substantial cost to performance of having to switch tasks (or a benefit of repeating the same task). This "switch cost" is reduced (but not eliminated) given time to prepare for a change of task, and the reduction has been taken as an index of an endogenous control process of task-set reconfiguration. I will defend this interpretation against recent challenges from both behavioral and neuroimaging research, and describe the evolution of a task-cuing paradigm which appears to capture an endogenous TSR process more securely. I will then describe ERP data obtained using this paradigm which (we think) identify a neural signature of a task-set reconfiguration process performed before the stimulus when a change of task has been signalled and time permits, and after the stimulus onset if time did not permit or the anticipatory reconfiguration was unsuccessful. About the Speaker: Over the last decade I have been investigating the performance costs of switching between simple cognitive tasks, as a way of studying processes of task-set reconfiguration and the interactions between "executive" control, stimulus-driven activation of task-sets, and the recency and familiarity of tasks. Issues include: the cueing of task-set preparation; the role of verbal processes in, and the effect of the strength and compatibility of stimulus-action mappings on, the reconfiguration of task-set; the role of stimulus affordances and stimulus-specific associations in task-set control; inhibitory processes. For More Information About This Speaker: http://psynet.ex.ac.uk/stafflist/profile.php?id=920 Dr. Monsell's webpage at the University of Exeter.
Researchers and the general public are both welcome to attend the Psychology department's colloquia. Reservations are not required, and admission is free. If you have any questions regarding the department's colloquium series, then please write to colloquia@psy.ucsd.edu