Detecting Target Identity—Location/Response Binding in Visuo-spatial Tasks Using a Cueing Procedure: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

We aimed to determine the suitability of a “new” procedure for detecting the existence of binding between a target’s identity and its location/response during its processing on a prime trial in a visuo-spatial task. Importantly, the method involved cueing the impending likelihood of a binding violation on a subsequent probe trial. If the latency increasing impact of a binding violation can be reduced or removed when the cue proved to be valid, RT reductions for Conditions that involved a binding violation would show a larger latency decrease than those which did not (relative to uninformative cue trials). This result pattern did not occur, even though data showed that the cue information was used for preparation (RT [valid cue] < RT [uninformative cue] > RT [invalid cue]). Either a target identity—location/response binding does not occur, or advance knowledge of its impending violation does not modulate the violation’s latency increase impact. In any event, the use of the cue procedure employed here to detect binding is not a viable one.