Abstract

In recent years the paradigms of inhibition of return and Simon effect have been applied in social contexts, showing the presence of these phenomena also in situations of task sharing between two participants. Nevertheless the nature of these effects has not been clarified. To this aim, the present review discusses the relation between "classic" effects of inhibition of return and Simon effect and the "social" effects found more recently. Analysis of the literature shows same similarities between the two phenomena for different aspects, suggesting the utility of considering them jointly in order to clarify their social nature.