Koch, I. & Schuch, S.
RWTH Aachen University, Germany
Cognitive control mechanisms underlying flexible action can be examined using task switching methodology. There are (at least) two robust findings in task switching. First, a switch of tasks incurs performance switch costs. Second, repeating a response is beneficial in task repetitions but leads to costs in task switches. This interactive pattern of switching tasks and responses may be informative with respect to the underlying representations. Task representations ("task sets") probably include the mapping of stimuli to responses, suggesting task-specific response representations (e.g., pressing a left key may be used to represent a color feature in one task but a shape feature in another task). However, theoretical accounts differ in terms of whether they assume associative strengthening of task-specific response meaning or persisting inhibition of representations of just executed responses, which has different implications for the nature of task representations. In this presentation we discuss existing evidence and report new experimental data. We conclude that both accounts are not mutually exclusive, and we present new evidence for inhibitory mechanisms acting on response representations.