Can task-set inhibition be modulated by short-term binding and retrieval in task switching? Assensing the effects of a task-irrelevant context.

In task switching, performance in trial n is known to be influenced by whether the current task repeats versus switches from trial n-2. The typical result is worse performance in n-2 task repetitions compared to switches (i.e., n-2 repetition costs). N-2 repetition costs are ascribed to inhibition of the n-2 task set that needs to be overcome to select the same task set in trial n. In the recent years, however, it was suggested that n-2 repetition costs might be explained by episodic mismatch (i.e., feature binding and episodic retrieval processes) in trial n and n-2 in those trials in which the response switches between trial n-2 and trial n. Empirical evidence indeed supported this hypothesis showing larger n-2 repetition costs when the response switches from trial n-2 compared to when it repeats. N-2 repetition costs were nonetheless significant in response repetitions, indicating a residual role of task-set inhibition. In the present study, we assess whether the repetition of a task-irrelevant context can reduce n-2 repetition costs by retrieving the n-2 task set thus overcoming inhibition and increasing the match between trial n and n-2.