The representation of instructions in working memory leads to autonomous response activation: Evidence from the first trials in the flanker paradigm

The authors examined whether instructions can lead to autonomous response activation even without practice. Eriksen and Eriksen's ( 1974) flanker compatibility paradigm was used to show that the flanker compatibility effect (FCE) is already present in the first trials following the stimulus-response instructions, before any of the stimuli have been repeated. This first-trials FCE was present even when participants were strongly motivated to ignore the flankers, and it disappeared under conditions of high working-memory (WM) load. The findings suggest that intention, formed by instructions, is involved in forming representations in WM that operate like a prepared reflex ( Woodworth, 1938). The implications of the finding to intentionality and frontal lobe functions are discussed.