Institute for Psychology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany.
Psychol Res. 2024 Nov 15;89(1):20. doi: 10.1007/s00426-024-02054-4.
In dual-task (DT) situations, performance deteriorates compared with single-task situations. Such performance decrements are frequently explained with the serial scheduling of the response selection stages constituting a bottleneck. Proof of this assumption stems from the observation that response times for the second task (task 2; RT 2) increase with decreasing stimulus-onset asynchrony (SOA).In this study, we investigated how the reward prospect for task 1 performance affects task 1 and task 2 processing. For that purpose, we relied on the psychological refractory period paradigm (PRP) as a chronometric tool, to determine the locus of the reward effect in the processing chain of both tasks.We obtained improved task 1 and task 2 performance; as indicated by reduced RTs in the reward compared to the no reward condition of task 1 and task 2. Furthermore, the reward effect propagated at short SOA from task 1 onto task 2, suggesting that the locus of the reward effect can be pinpointed before or at the bottleneck of task 1. Importantly, the mean reward effect on task 1 was increased compared to task 2, thus indicating that parts of the reward effect were not propagated onto task 2, therefore affecting task 1 motor processes.In Experiment 2, we tested for the locus of the effect propagation to task 2. Therefore, we implemented a difficulty manipulation of the response selection of task 2. The results indicate that the reward effect is propagated from task 1 onto the response selection stage of task 2.
在双重任务（DT）情况下，与单任务情况相比，表现会恶化。这种性能下降通常可以用构成瓶颈的响应选择阶段的串行调度来解释。这一假设的证据源于这样一种观察，即第二个任务（任务 2；RT2）的反应时间随着刺激起始时间间隔（SOA）的减少而增加。在这项研究中，我们研究了任务 1 表现的奖励前景如何影响任务 1 和任务 2 的处理。为此，我们依赖心理不应期范式（PRP）作为计时工具，以确定奖励效应对两个任务处理链的影响。我们获得了改进的任务 1 和任务 2 的表现；如任务 1 的奖励条件下的反应时间（RT）比无奖励条件下的 RT 减少所表明的那样。此外，奖励效果从任务 1 传播到任务 2 ，即使在短 SOA 条件下，这表明奖励效果的位置可以在任务 1 的瓶颈之前或处确定。重要的是，与任务 2 相比，任务 1 上的平均奖励效果增加，因此表明部分奖励效果未传播到任务 2，从而影响任务 1 的运动过程。在实验 2 中，我们测试了该效果对任务 2 的传播的位置。因此，我们对任务 2 的响应选择进行了难度操作。结果表明，奖励效果从任务 1 传播到任务 2 的响应选择阶段。
