Same same but different? Modeling N-1 switch cost and N-2 repetition cost with the diffusion model and the linear ballistic accumulator model.

Abstract

In three task-switching experiments, we investigated the relationship of n-1 switch cost and n-2 repetition cost. N-1 switch cost is observed when participants are asked to switch from one classification task to another, e.g., from judging a digit as odd or even to judging a digit as smaller or larger than five. N-2 repetition cost is observed when participants are asked to switch among three tasks (thereafter called A, B, and C). This cost is observed when the task on trial n-2 is repeated in trial n (i.e., in task sequences like ABA) compared to when it is switched (i.e., in task sequences like CBA). So far, the n-1 switch cost is assumed to be caused either by reconfiguration processes or by episodic-memory inertia from the previously activated task-set. N-2 repetition cost is thought to reflect lingering inhibitory processes for resolving conflict among tasks. Whereas both views are integrated in some models, it is up to date unclear whether n-2 repetition cost is related to n-1 switch cost. To examine this relationship, we decomposed the processes underlying n-1 switch cost and n-2 repetition cost using a diffusion model analysis as well as a linear ballistic accumulator model. The results showed that n-1 switch cost reflects interference caused by the residual activation of the previous task set as indicated by slower evidence accumulation processes. In contrast, there were no consistent parameter modulations underlying n-2 repetition cost. These findings emphasize that different cognitive processes are involved in n-1 switch cost and n-2 repetition cost.