Executive control of thought and action: in search of the wild homunculus

Executive control is studied in many areas of psychological research using a wide variety of procedures. This article focuses on studies of the executive processes involved in switching between tasks. The experiments discussed were designed to isolate and measure the duration of the executive processes required to switch from one task to another. However, the research is open to alternative interpretations that do not hypothesize executive processes, suggesting that task-switching procedures may not measure the duration of executive control. Further research is required to determine whether or not behavioral effects reflect the involvement of executive processes.