Across-Task Priming Revisited: Response and Task Conflicts Disentangled Using Ex-Gaussian Distribution Analysis

The differential effects of task and response conflict in priming paradigms where associations are strengthened between a stimulus, a task, and a response have been demonstrated in recent years with neuroimaging methods. However, such effects are not easily disentangled with only measurements of behavior, such as reaction times (RTs). Here, we report the application of ex-Gaussian distribution analysis on task-switching RT data and show that conflict related to stimulus response associations retrieved after a switch of tasks is reflected in the Gaussian component. By contrast, conflict related to the retrieval of stimulus-task associations is reflected in the exponential component. Our data confirm that the retrieval of stimulus-task and -response associations affects behavior differently. Ex-Gaussian distribution analysis is a useful tool for pulling apart these different levels of associative priming that are not distinguishable in analyses of RT means.