Abstract

The present study investigated the interference effect on control processes involved in task shifting. Rogers and Monsell (1995) showed greater task shift costs with stimuli that interfere with the current task. The irrelevant features in the interference condition were stimuli belonging to the currently inappropriate task. This effect was attributed to a component of task-set reconfiguration triggered exogenously. Stimuli evoke associated task-sets and this explains why RT and shift costs increased when the stimulus included a character associated with the currently inappropriate task. We failed to replicate Rogers and Monsell's results. It is clear that further research is needed to better understand interference effects in task shifting processes.