Experimental Investigations of the Intention Selection Paradigm

This final dissertation will describe the experiments that have been performed to test the predictions of the Model of Intention Selection, devised by Grünbaum, Oren, and Kyllingsbæk. This model was created to support the long-term memory account of how intentions are stored, retrieved and implemented. The researchers also developed a new experimental paradigm to investigate the Model of Intention Selection, called the Intention Selection Paradigm (ISP). Three applications of the ISP will be described. All the experiments consisted in a computer-based task in which stimuli appeared on the screen and participants were required to report target letters on a keyboard. The hypothesis states that having associated different cues with ranging weights in the form of reward, there should be competition among intentions with similar weights. Results of Experiment 10 point towards a robust competition among intentions, which is an encouraging outcome in favour of the long-term conception.