Dynamic adjustment of the eye-voice span and articulation duration in the course of multi-item naming tasks: Evidence for lockout scheduling

Studies of cognitive control using tasks with isolated (single-item) vs. multiple (multi-item) itempresentation have shown that multi-item tasks may be more effective in capturing limitations ofthe cognitive control system arising from capacity constraints. Importantly, during multi-itemtasks, performance decreases but does not collapse, consistent with effective management ofcognitive overload. This has been interpreted by positing a strategic shift from a more parallel toa more serial processing, whereby the processing of the current item is prioritized overupcoming items, termed lockout scheduling. Here, we investigate this proposal by examiningwithin-task modulations of eye-voice span (EVS) measures and articulation duration in multiitem color naming tasks with and without internal interference (i.e., incongruent and neutralStroop conditions). We hypothesized that lockout scheduling would manifest itself acrossmeasures and conditions as the task progresses and cognitive overload emerges. The resultsshowed dynamic changes in both EVS and articulation measures as a function of time-on-task,consistent with the gradual implementation of a lockout scheduling strategy in response toemerging cognitive overload. The observed patterns indicate that the shift from a more parallelto a more serial processing is not an all-or-none phenomenon but a dynamic interplay betweengaze, voice, and covert (i.e., parafoveal) attention, affecting online decisions about spatialdistance, timing, and processing resource allocation.