Abstract des Autors

In a choice reaction-time task, response-response (R-R) compatibility is the change in reaction times created by the relationship between the alternative responses (Rosenbaum, 199 1). Using various tasks, the study of R-R compatibility has revealed a triad of effects (see Heuer, 1990, for a review). This triad of effects includes increased mean reaction times, increased reaction time variability and decreased response errors for the more difficult task. One form of R-R compatibility has been assumed to be the response interference effect (Heuer, 1990; Rosenbaum, 1991). The purpose of this study was to analyze the response interference effect in terms of the triad of effects. Participants (N=36) performed a two-choice task, which consisted of one block of trials using a same-hand finger pairing (right middle and index fingers) and one block of trials using a different-hand finger pairing (right-middle and left-index fingers). Mean reaction times and the within subject reaction time variability adhered to the R-R compatibility's triad of effects, but the response error data did not. It appears that the response interference effect may be a form of R-R compatibility; however, further research is needed to clarify the nature of the response errors in the response interference effect. Verf.-Referat