Day 77 of 150 Speed Difficulty 4/10
Same-side stimuli speed responses they should not
Quick answer
Same-side stimuli speed responses they should not. Today's question (Simon effect) asks about a finding from Simon, J. R. in 1969. The correct option is The tone comes from the same side as the correct response key — full explanation, primary source, and glossary cross-links below.
Today's question
Imagine you must press a left key when you hear a high tone and a right key when you hear a low tone. Which condition is fastest?
Reveal the answer and explanation
Correct: A — The tone comes from the same side as the correct response key
Simon (1969) discovered that even when the spatial location of a stimulus is irrelevant to the task, responses are faster when the stimulus location coincides with the response location. Hearing the high tone on the left while pressing the left key is faster than hearing the high tone on the right and pressing the left key — the Simon effect. The phenomenon shows that spatial information is automatically encoded and influences response selection, producing interference when location and required response conflict. It is a workhorse paradigm for studying cognitive control and the resolution of automatic-versus-instructed response tendencies.
About the source
Simon, J. R. (1969). Reactions toward the source of stimulation. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 81(1), 174–176.
Every Cognition Bible question cites a primary source — a paper, book chapter, or monograph that exists, that we can point to on Google Scholar, and whose finding the question accurately summarizes. No fabricated authority strings, no name-drops without paper-level grounding.
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