A RESOURCE ACCOUNT OF INHIBITION

In a letter-naming task, a letter will be named more slowly if it was a distractor on the previous trial. This negative priming effect has b een instrumental in renewed interest in inhibition. The present resear ch explored whether inhibition is a result of controlled attention. Wh en the naming task was performed under a mental work load, negative pr iming was diminished as work load increased. This finding suggests tha t inhibition is a product of controlled resources and that group diffe rences in inhibition may result from differences in controlled attenti onal resources, not from inefficient inhibitory mechanisms.