Wenke, D. 1, 2 , Liefooghe, B. 2 & De Houwer, J. 2
1 Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig
2 Ghent University
Functional similarities between practiced and merely instructed S-R mappings were explored using an Eriksen Flanker task. We compared the overall Flanker compatibility effect (FCE) and its sequential modulation (i.e., the Gratton effect) in a practiced condition with an instructed condition. Four new S-R mappings were instructed on each block of trials. In the practiced condition, each instructed stimulus could appear as target and as flanker. In the instructed condition, two stimuli only served as targets, whereas the other two exclusively appeared as flankers. We found significant FCEs in both the instructed and the practiced condition. Moreover, the Gratton effect was similar in the two conditions: It only showed in target/response repetition trials, but not in alternation trials. Our results suggest that instructions alone can induce bindings between S- and R features that lead to automatic response activation when instructed stimuli appear as flankers in a functionally similar way as practiced flankers.