Task manipulation effects on the relationship between working memory and go/no-go task performance

Abstract Go/no-go tasks are widely used in psychology as measures of inhibition, mind-wandering, and impulsivity, but relatively little research has explored the impact that task manipulations have on task performance and measurement of the intended psychological constructs. Experiment 1 investigated the differences between perceptual and semantic versions of go/no-go tasks and how task performance relates to individual differences in working memory capacity (WMC), a widely-studied cognitive construct. The type of decision performed on the go/no-go stimuli influenced performance, but not the relationship with WMC. Experiment 2 examined the potential of inter-stimulus interval (ISI), which influenced go/no-go performance, along with the relationships with WMC. However, the type of decision had effects on performance above and beyond that of the ISI. The results are discussed in relation to the psychological literature using go/no-go tasks as behavioral indices of inhibition and mind-wandering, and in the context of previous investigations of individual differences in WMC.