Conflict Resolution Mechanisms In A Cognitive Conflict Paradigm

Abstract

Allowing impulsive behavioral tendencies to drive actions can be fatal as most of the times such actions lead to dire consequences. Crossing the street hastily, without looking on both the sides, might cost as much as a person’s life. Such abrupt and unconsidered actions, thus, need to be restrained to bypass unwanted ramifications. In the field of cognitive psychology, dealing with impulsive response tendencies have been studied widely using distinct conflicting paradigms, like the Stroop (Stroop, 1935), the Flanker (Eriksen & Eriksen, 1974; Hübner, Steinhauser, & Lehle, 2008), and the Simon (Hübner & Mishra, 2013; Simon & Rudell, 1967) These paradigms function by inducing opposing response tendencies in an individual and the aim is usually to select the task-appropriate response over the more impulsive wrong response. The present work examines the control mechanisms involved in resolving conflict generated in one such conflicting paradigm: the Simon paradigm. Broadly, two control processes are involved that serve to guide the selection of the appropriate response: reduction of the task-irrelevant information at the very beginning of the selection process by filtering it out of the attentional zone, or/and suppressing the irrelevant response at the late selection phase. The present work is a further insight into these alleged mechanisms to explore deeper into their underlying dynamics. Study I particularly focuses on the dynamics of the late selection mechanism: selective-suppression of the irrelevant response, and reflects that suppression need not follow a rigid temporal dynamics to fight against conflict, as it has been proclaimed in literature. Instead, the activity of suppression is subject to variations, which makes it more flexible in nature. Study II demonstrates the significance of the early selection mechanism: gating, which together with late suppression, is sufficient to explain the modulations in the Simon effect. Study III is a slight detour from the first two studies as it addresses the question of adaptation of control mechanisms on the fly. The third study demonstrates that it is indeed possible to modulate the control mechanisms on the fly, by making the use of specific stimulus attributes. In a nutshell, the present work explores the dynamics of different control mechanisms functioning to attenuate the response conflict in the Simon paradigm and unleashes some of their new dimensions.