Faculty of Kinesiology, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Hotchkiss Brian Institute, University of Calgary, AB, Canada T2N 1N4.
Hum Mov Sci. 2009 Dec;28(6):726-37. doi: 10.1016/j.humov.2009.07.006. Epub 2009 Aug 11.
The "Simon effect" describes a pattern of reaction times (RTs) where responses to symbolic information are shorter when the information is presented on the same side of space as the desired response than when it is on the opposite side of space. For example, if right hand responses are required for green targets and left hand responses for red targets, RTs with the right hand are shorter when the green target appears on the right side than on the left side. It has been reported that Simon effects also appear when two individuals perform independent components of a Simon effect task. It has been suggested that such joint Simon effects occur because participants represent the action of their partner. It is unclear, however, if the joint Simon effect emerges because: (1) each partner represents the other's action; (2) each partner is using the other person or their response as an environmental reference; or (3) an intra-hemispheric processing advantage due to the lateralized cerebral organization of perceptual and motor systems. The present study distinguished between these possibilities by asking pairs of participants to perform in conditions in which they crossed their arms into the other person's space. Consistent with within-person Simon effects, joint Simon effects were observed in uncrossed- and crossed limb conditions. These results support a response co-representation explanation of joint Simon effects. It is suggested that the processes underlying the evoked representations have developed to allow two independent agents to form temporary synergies to facilitate efficient task completion.
“西蒙效应”描述了一种反应时（RT）模式，即当符号信息与期望反应在同一侧空间呈现时，其反应比在另一侧空间呈现时更快。例如，如果绿色目标需要用右手反应，红色目标需要用左手反应，那么当绿色目标出现在右侧时，右手的 RT 会更短。已经有报道称，当两个人执行西蒙效应任务的独立组成部分时，也会出现西蒙效应。有人认为，这种联合西蒙效应是因为参与者代表了他们伙伴的行为。然而，目前尚不清楚联合西蒙效应是因为：（1）每个伙伴都代表了另一个人的行为；（2）每个伙伴都在使用对方或他们的反应作为环境参考；（3）由于感知和运动系统的大脑组织偏侧化，而产生了半球内处理优势。本研究通过让参与者在交叉手臂进入对方空间的条件下进行，区分了这些可能性。与个体内西蒙效应一致，在未交叉和交叉肢体条件下都观察到了联合西蒙效应。这些结果支持了联合西蒙效应的反应共同表现解释。有人认为，引发这些表现的过程已经发展到可以让两个独立的主体形成暂时的协同作用，以促进任务的高效完成。
