Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31191404›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in psychology2019

Exploring the Limitations of the Shielding Function of Categorization Rules in Task-Switching.

Dong Guo, Bingxin Li, Yun Yu, Xuhong Liu, Xiangqian Li

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Dong GuoSchool of Social Development and Public Policy, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Bingxin LiSchool of Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
Yun YuInstitute of International and Comparative Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
Xuhong LiuSchool of Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
Xiangqian LiSchool of Social Development and Public Policy, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Applying categorization rules narrows attention toward the relevant features of a target and helps participants to ignore the irrelevant features of the target. This is called the shielding function of categorization rules. Here we explored the limitation of the shielding function in two task-switching experiments. In Experiment 1, we assigned each target a single digital numeral as an additional feature in addition to conventional bivalent features as in the previous task-switching experiments with bivalent tasks. In the first two stages of Experiment 1, half of the participants learned the numeral-response associations and the other half used an alternative numeral-categorization rule to infer the response. Without participants applying conventional task-switching rules, the switching costs disappeared. Moreover, when participants performed tasks by numeral-response associations the bivalent features interfered with response retrieval and caused response-congruency effects, whereas when participants applied the numeral-categorization rule, the bivalent features were shielded away and thereby the response-congruency effects disappeared. In the third stage, in which all participants applied task-switching rules by discriminating between bivalent features (i.e., filling and orientations), we found task-switching costs and response-congruency effects. In Experiment 2, new bivalent features produced stronger interference compared to Experiment 1. As a consequence, participants in both the association group and the numeral-categorization rule group showed significant response-congruency effects in the first two stages, where task-switching rules were not introduced. It follows that the shielding function of categorization rules has limits-strong interference from bivalent features can break down the shielding function. In addition, participants in the association group showed task-switching costs without being informed about the task-switching rules. We propose that strong proactive interference can produce task-switching costs even without the use of task-switching rules.

Indexed as

bivalent featurescongruency effectshielding function of task settask-switchingtask-switching cost

Identifiers

PMID31191404
PMCPMC6548200

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.