Dynamic adjustment of temporal preparation: Shifting warning signal modality attenuates the sequential foreperiod effect

We examined sequential effects in the variable foreperiod (FP) paradigm, which refer to the finding that responses to an imperative signal (IS) are fast when a short FP trial is repeated but slow when it is preceded by a long FP trial. The effect has been attributed to a trace-conditioning mechanism in which individuals learn the temporal relationship between a warning signal (WS) and the IS in a trial-by-trial manner. An important assumption is that the WS in a current trial (i.e., trial FP_n) acts as a conditioned stimulus, such that it automatically triggers the conditioned response at the exact critical moment that was imperative in the previous trial (i.e., trial FP_n−1). According to this assumption, a shift from one WS modality in trial FP_n−1 to another modality in trial FP_n is expected to eliminate or at least reduce the sequential FP effect. This prediction was tested in three experiments that included a random variation of WS modality and FP length within blocks of trials. In agreement with the prediction, a shift in WS modality attenuated the asymmetry of the sequential FP effect.