ERIC Number: EJ1249838
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-May
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0278-7393
EISSN: N/A
Interacting Congruency Effects in the Hybrid Stroop-Simon Task Prevent Conclusions Regarding the Domain Specificity or Generality of the Congruency Sequence Effect
Weissman, Daniel H.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, v46 n5 p945-967 May 2020
Although domain-specificity is prevalent in models of human cognition, its presence is not always easy to verify. For example, according to one prominent model, experiencing conflict from an incongruent distractor in a Stroop-like task triggers an upregulation of domain-specific control that facilitates the resolution of the same, but not a different, type of conflict in the next trial. The only evidence for this view, however, comes from tasks wherein confounds can mimic the effects of domain-specific control. In the present study, I report that Stroop-incongruent and Simon-incongruent distractors in a hybrid Stroop-Simon task trigger selective reductions of the Stroop and Simon effects in the next trial (i.e., distractor-specific congruency sequence effects [CSEs]), regardless of whether confounds are absent (Experiment 1) or present (Experiment 2). However, I also report that the Stroop and Simon effects interact when confounds are absent (Experiment 1) and in trials with slow reaction times when confounds are present (Experiment 2). These within-trial interactions suggest that the Stroop and Simon effects index overlapping conflicts, rather than independent conflicts. Thus, they prevent one from drawing any conclusions about whether the distractor-specific CSEs index domain-specific (i.e., conflict-specific) or domain-general (i.e., conflict-general) control. This outcome challenges prior data suggesting domain-specific control in the hybrid Stroop-Simon task. However, it fits with recent findings suggesting independent within- and across-trial conflict control processes. It also fits with an emerging view wherein across-trial conflict control processes engender CSEs by retrieving an episodic memory of previous-trial control settings.
Descriptors: Color, Interference (Learning), Reaction Time, Visual Stimuli, Task Analysis, Experiments, Conflict, Learning Processes, Cues, Sensory Integration, Attention, Undergraduate Students
American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Michigan
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Stroop Color Word Test
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Data File: URL: https://osf.io/2tywv/