Emergent relations and competing behavior: Effects on interruptions, accuracy and reaction time

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of engaging in concurrent behaviors on the emergence of untrained stimulus-stimulus relations, specifically examining interruptions, accuracy, and reaction times during test. Six participants completed a computerized matching-to-sample task under three conditions: a baseline condition, a singing condition hypothesized to be incompatible with covert verbal behavior, and a foot tapping condition hypothesized to be compatible with covert verbal behavior. The tempo was kept consistent across both singing and foot tapping tasks. Results indicated a higher average number of interruptions in the foot tapping condition compared to the singing condition. Accuracy and reaction time results varied between participants, indicating individual differences in the impact of the concurrent behaviors. Some participants showed decreased accuracy and increased reaction times during the foot tapping condition, while others demonstrated consistent performance across both conditions. These findings highlight the potential role of response fluency in the execution of concurrent tasks and the influence of verbal mediation on complex behaviors. These insights have implications for the design of experimental tasks and the interpretation of results in studies involving complex behavior and concurrent tasks.