A psychophysiological investigation of the selection and the use of partial stimulus information in response choice

• Published in: Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance Vol. 22; no. 1; p. 3
• Main Authors: Smid, H G, Böcker, K B, van Touw, D A, Mulder, G, Brunia, C H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01-02-1996
• Subjects: Adult; Choice Behavior; Evoked Potentials, Visual; Female; Fixation, Ocular; Humans; Male; Visual Perception
• ISSN: 0096-1523
• DOI: 10.1037/0096-1523.22.1.3

Two alternative explanations were examined for why selective response activation sometimes starts before stimulus identification is complete (e.g., J. O. Miller & S. A. Hackley, 1992) and sometimes starts only after stimulus identification is complete (e.g., R. De Jong, M. Wierda, G. Mulder, & L. J. M. Mulder, 1988). Distinct psychophysiological methods related to stimulus identification and response selection provided evidence suggesting that partial stimulus information is identified but is or is not used before the stimulus is identified more fully, depending on task requirements. This result (a) suggests strategic adaptation of task performance, (b) is inconsistent with particular discrete and continuous models of information processing, and (c) shows the existence of a central selection mechanism that can prevent the automatic activation of responses associated with preliminary available stimulus information.