The bivalency effect in task switching: general and enduring.

Beyond Feature Binding: Interference from Episodic Context Binding Creates the Bivalency Effect in Task-Switching

When switching between different tasks and bivalent stimuli occur only occasionally on one of them, performance is slowed on subsequent univalent trials even if they have no overlapping features with the bivalent stimulus. This phenomenon has been labeled the "bivalency effect." Recent evidence has revealed that this effect is robust, general, and enduring. Moreover, it challenges current theor...

The Bivalency Effect in Task-switching the Bivalency Effect in Task-switching by John

The bivalency effect in task switching: event-related potentials.

During task switching, if we occasionally encounter stimuli that cue more than one task (i.e., bivalent stimuli), response slowing is observed on all univalent trials within that block, even when no features overlap with the bivalent stimuli. This observation is known as the bivalency effect. Previous fMRI work (Woodward et al., 2008) clearly suggests a role for the dorsal anterior cingulate co...

Episodic context binding in task switching: evidence from amnesia.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether amnesic patients show a bivalency effect. The bivalency effect refers to the performance slowing that occurs when switching tasks and bivalent stimuli appear occasionally among univalent stimuli. According to the episodic context binding account, bivalent stimuli create a conflict-loaded context that is re-activated on subsequent trial...

Anterior cingulate cortex signals the requirement to break inertia when switching tasks: A study of the bivalency effect

When switching tasks, if stimuli are presented that cue two of the tasks in the task set (i.e., bivalent stimuli), performance slowing is observed on all tasks, including those not cued by the bivalent stimulus. This slowing has been coined the bivalency effect, and may reflect adaptive tuning of the response style under conditions that appear to require adjustments in control over the course o...