ABSTRACT
Shifting or switching attention from one task to another involves a cost in cognitive processing (Rogers & Monsell, 1995). Different paradigms have been developed to investigate the mechanisms that may underlie such switch costs. For example, Rogers and Monsell (1995) developed the alternating runs paradigm requiring responses to two different tasks that alternate (…AABBAA…) so as to create a predictable sequence of repeat trials and switch trials. They found reaction times on switch trials were slower than on repeat trials, even with a long delay between a response and the upcoming stimulus (residual switch cost). This result was hypothesized to be compatible with the existence of an endogenous “reconfiguration” process, a stage of preparation for the predictable, upcoming trial.
