The time taken to switch attention between modalities was measured by giving 15 Ss an RT task having conditions of certainty and uncertainty. The task was repeated twice with positive and negative reinforcement contingent upon giving faster RTs than in the previous session. RTs were reduced (p < .01), and the measure of switching time also decreased (p < .05). It was suggested that the effort induced by the reinforcement conditions decreased the time taken to switch attention between modalities (light and tone).
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