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On the automaticity of ipsilateral response activation in the Simon effect
Author(s) -
ValleInclán Fernando,
Redondo Milagros
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/1469-8986.3540366
Subject(s) - automaticity , psychology , automatism (medicine) , cognitive psychology , neuroscience , cognition
The effects on performance of unattended stimulus–response spatial relationships in choice reaction time tasks (i.e., the Simon effect) have been attributed to automatic activation of the response ipsilateral to stimulus location. We tested this assumption using the lateralized readiness potential (LRP). The response key labels changed randomly from trial to trial and were presented either 400 ms before (immediate‐reaction trials) or 400 ms after (delayed‐reaction trials) stimulus. The critical test for the automatic activation hypothesis was on delayed‐reaction trials, in which LRP deflections were expected in the interval between stimulus and response‐key labels. Contrary to this prediction, there were no LRP signs of response activation within that interval.