Phasic alertness and residual switch costs in task switching.

Residual switch costs are deficits in task-switching performance that occur despite considerable time to prepare for a task switch. In the present study, the author investigated whether increased phasic alertness modulates residual switch costs. In 2 experiments involving the task-cuing procedure, subjects performed numerical categorization tasks on target digits, with and without an alerting stimulus presented shortly before the target (alert and no-alert trials, respectively). Switch costs were obtained that decreased with a longer cue-target interval, indicating subjects engaged in preparation, but large residual switch costs remained. Alerting effects were obtained in the form of faster overall performance on alert than on no-alert trials, indicating the alerting stimuli increased phasic alertness. Critically, residual switch costs were similar on alert and no-alert trials in both experiments, unaffected by manipulations of alert type, alert availability, and alert-target interval. Implications of the results for understanding the relationship between phasic alertness and cognitive control in task switching are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record