An action sequence withheld in memory can delay execution of visually guided actions: the generalization of response compatibility interference

Withholding an action plan in memory for later execution can delay execution of another action, if the actions share a similar (compatible) action feature (i.e., response hand). This phenomenon, termed compatibility interference (CI), was found for identity-based actions that do not require visual guidance. The authors examined whether CI can generalize to both identity-based and location-based actions that require visual guidance. Participants withheld a planned action based on the identity of a stimulus and then immediately executed a visually guided action (touch response) to a 2nd stimulus based on its color identity (Experiment 1), its spatial location (Experiment 2), or an intrinsic spatial location within an object (Experiment 3). Results showed CI for both left- and right-hand responses in Experiment 1. However, CI occurred for left- but not right-hand responses in Experiment 2 and 3. This suggests that CI can generalize to visually guided actions under cognitive control but not to actions that invoke automatic visual-control mechanisms where the left hemisphere may play a special role (C. Gonzalez, T. Ganel, & M. Goodale, 2006). The code occupation account for CI (G. Stoet & B. Hommel, 2002) is also discussed.