EFFECTS OF SECOND SIGNALS OCCURRING AFTER RESPONSE SELECTION ON RESPONSES TO FIRST SIGNALS

Following a 1st signal to respond (S1), a 2nd signal (S2) to which no response was required was inserted during response execution, i.e., after an overt response to S1 had begun but before the entire response had been completed. No significant decrements in response latency to S1 or in errors in responding to S1 were found by comparison with an independent control group never experiencing S2. This was in contrast to prior findings in which significant response decrements had been found when S2 occurred during response selection, i.e., prior to initiation of any overt movement. Ss were 18 male undergraduates. The set of findings considered compatible with an interpretation of independence of response-selection and response-execution stages and with response-conflict theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.