Dissociation of binding and learning processes

A single encounter of a stimulus together with a response can result in a short-lived association between the stimulus and the response [sometimes called an event file, see Hommel, Müsseler, Aschersleben, & Prinz, (2001) Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 24, 910–926]. The repetition of stimulus–response pairings typically results in longer lasting learning effects indicating stimulus–response associations (e.g., Logan & Etherton, (1994) Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 20, 1022–1050]. An important question is whether or not what has been described as stimulus–response binding in action control research is actually identical with an early stage of incidental learning (e.g., binding might be seen as single-trial learning). Here, we present evidence that short-lived binding effects can be distinguished from learning of longer lasting stimulus–response associations. In two experiments, participants always responded to centrally presented target letters that were flanked by response irrelevant distractor letters. Experiment 1 varied whether distractors flanked targets on the horizontal or vertical axis. Binding effects were larger for a horizontal than for a vertical distractor-target configuration, while stimulus configuration did not influence incidental learning of longer lasting stimulus–response associations. In Experiment 2, the duration of the interval between response n – 1 and presentation of display n (500 ms vs. 2000 ms) had opposing influences on binding and learning effects. Both experiments indicate that modulating factors influence stimulus–response binding and incidental learning effects in different ways. We conclude that distinct underlying processes should be assumed for binding and incidental learning effects.