Active masks and active inhibition: a comment on Lleras and Enns (2004) and on Verleger, Jaskowski, Aydemir, van der Lubbe, and Groen (2004).

Full Abstract

Verleger, Jaskowski, Aydemir, van der Lubbe, and Groen and Lleras and Enns have argued that negative compatibility effects (NCEs) obtained with masked primes do not reflect self-inhibition processes in motor control. Instead, NCEs are assumed to reflect activation of the response opposite to the prime, triggered by the presence of prime/targetlike features in the mask. Thus, no NCEs should be elicited when masks do not contain such task-relevant features. In Experiments 1 and 3, the authors demonstrate that NCEs can be obtained when masks contain only irrelevant features. Experiment 2 demonstrates that positive compatibility effects (PCEs) will occur with such masks when masked primes are presented peripherally. These results are inconsistent with the mask-induced activation accounts but are in line with the self-inhibition hypothesis of the NCE. Although perceptual interactions and mask-induced motor activations may contribute to NCEs under certain conditions, they cannot provide a full explanation for these effects.

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Author information

Author/s: Schlaghecken, Friederike (F); Eimer, Martin (M);

Affiliation: Department of PsychologyUniversity of Warwick, Coventry, England. f.schlaghecken(-atsign-)warwick.ac.uk

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comment; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Journal of experimental psychology. General (J Exp Psychol Gen), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Aug; vol 135 (issue 3) : pp 484-94

Dates: Created 2006/07/18; Completed 2006/12/15;

PMID: 16846277, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

Comments and Corrections

CommentOn: J Exp Psychol Gen. 2004 Dec;133(4):475-93. (PMID: 15584802)

CommentOn: J Exp Psychol Gen. 2004 Dec;133(4):494-515. (PMID: 15584803)

CommentIn: J Exp Psychol Gen. 2006 Aug;135(3):495-500. (PMID: 16846278)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult
Attention
Cues
Female
Humans
Inhibition (Psychology)
Male

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