Outlines of a Multiple Trace Theory of Temporal Preparation

Abstract

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We outline a new multiple trace theory of temporal preparation (MTP), which accounts for behavior in reaction time tasks in which the participant is presented with a warning stimulus (S1) followed by a target stimulus (S2) that requires a speeded response. The theory assumes that during the foreperiod (the S1 – S2 interval) inhibition is applied to prevent premature response, while a wave of activation occurs upon the presentation of S2. On each trial, these actions are stored in a separate memory trace, which, jointly with earlier formed memory traces, starts contributing to preparation on subsequent trials. We show that MTP accounts for classic effects in temporal preparation, including mean reaction time – foreperiod functions observed under a variety of foreperiod distributions and asymmetric sequential effects. We discuss the advantages of MTP over other accounts of these effects (trace-conditioning and hazard-based explanations) and suggest a critical experiment to empirically distinguish among them.

Keywords

• trace conditioning
• Hazard function
• multiple trace theory
• temporal preparation
• foreperiod effects