Honma, R. , Shiozaki, M. , Utsumi, K. , Goto, T. & Saito, S.
Kyoto University
A mental model created by participants after receiving experimental instructions is referred to as a task model. It has been established that the complexity of the task model, rather than the complexity of the task itself, affects performance of the task. In this study, we examined whether different instructions for a task would generate different task models and whether the experiences during the task would modify these task models during the experimental session. Our goal-neglect task consisted of a combination of decisions about living/non-living phenomena and a target-detection task. Results indicated that two different instructions led to differential rates of goal neglect (i.e., missing targets) in the target-detection task, but that the response times for the living/non-living and the target-detection tasks did not differ as a function of different instructions. This effect was observed throughout the experimental session, suggesting that participants formed task models on the basis of verbal instructions only, irrespective of task experience, and maintained these models throughout the experimental session.