All together now: Simultaneous feature integration and feature retrieval in action control

Abstract

AbstractAccounts of human action control assume integration of stimulus and response features at response execution and, upon repetition of some of those features, retrieval of other previously integrated features. Even though both processes contribute sequentially to observed binding effects in studies using a sequential prime-probe design, integration and retrieval processes theoretically affect human action simultaneously. That is, every action that we execute leads to bindings between features of stimuli and responses, while at the same time these features also trigger retrieval of other previously integrated features. Nevertheless, the paradigms used to measure binding effects in action control can only testify for integration of stimulus and response features at the first (R1, n-1, or prime) and retrieval of the past event via feature repetition at the second (R2, n, or probe) response. Here we combined two paradigms used in the action control literature to show that integration and retrieval do indeed function simultaneously. We found both significant stimulus-response and significant response-response binding effects, indicating that integration of responses must have occurred at the same time as response retrieval due to feature repetition and vice versa.