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Simon says “stay in touch”: Reachability moderates the effect of irrelevant spatial congruence
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Simon says “stay in touch”: Reachability moderates the effect of irrelevant spatial congruence

Michael L. Paavola, J. Toby Mordkoff and Cathleen M. Moore
Psychonomic bulletin & review, Vol.33(4), 133
04/14/2026
DOI: 10.3758/s13423-026-02879-7
PMID: 41979836
url
https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-026-02879-7View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

The Simon Effect refers to the finding that simple left-right manual responses tend to be faster and more accurate when the response and stimulus are on the same side (congruent) compared to when they are on opposite sides (incongruent) even though the response is determined by a non-spatial attribute (e.g., color). We compared the Simon Effect with stimuli at reachable and unreachable distances within a virtual reality environment to test its dependence on the potential to interact with the stimulus. We controlled for confounds by matching image size and the viewing angle of stimuli within the environment across groups of participants. The magnitude of the Simon Effect was larger for stimuli in reachable than unreachable locations. These findings held regardless of image-size and viewing-angle conditions. This implies that task-irrelevant spatial congruence, like task-irrelevant motor affordances, is computed in ways that reflect the potential interactions with objects in a three-dimensional world.
 Cognitive Psychology Psychology Behavioral Science and Psychology Brief Report

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