Advantage of the go/no-go task over the yes/no lexical decision task: ERP indexes of parameters in the diffusion model

Previous research findings supporting the advantages of the go/no-go choice over the yes/no choice in lexical decision task (LDT) have suggested that the go/no-go choice might require less cognitive resources in the non-decisional processes. This study aims to test such an idea using the event-related potential method. In this study, the tasks (yes/no LDT and go/no-go LDT) and word frequency (high and low) were manipulated, and the difference between the go/no-go choice and yes/no choice were examined with BP, pN, pN1, P200, N400, and P3 components that were assumed to be closely related with the various parameters in the diffusion model. The results showed that BP, pN and pN1 amplitudes reflecting the preparation stage were not differently affected by word frequency and the task type. However, ERPs after stimulus onset showed differences. The P200 amplitudes were smaller in the go/no-go task than in the yes/no task only for low-frequency words. N400 and P3 amplitudes were only affected by word frequency. The results suggest that the go/no-go task and the yes/no task differ in sub-lexical processes, which is indicated in the T(encoding) parameter in the diffusion model. This study is important as it offers the first electrophysiological evidence supporting the assumption in the diffusion model that explains the advantage of the go/no-go choice over the yes/no choice.