Response expectations shape serial dependence and stimulus processing

Abstract

Perceptual decisions are biased by recent history, yet the balance between attractive and repulsive effects varies across contexts. Here, we tested whether trial-by-trial response expectations shape the direction of history biases in serial dependence during orientation reproduction. Behaviorally, we found that no-response trials--especially when rare--reduced attractive biases and enhanced repulsive biases. EEG results revealed stronger evoked responses and amplified neural representations for stimuli following no-response trials. Together, these findings suggest that interrupting the perception-action cycle fosters a state of re-engagement with current input and disengagement from past stimuli, indicating that serial dependence is a flexible process dynamically modulated by task expectations and transient shifts in sensory processing.