Converging evidence for control of color–word Stroop interference at the item level.

Abstract

Prior studies have shown that cognitive control is implemented at the list and context levels in the color-word Stroop task. At first blush, the finding that Stroop interference is reduced for mostly incongruent items as compared with mostly congruent items (i.e., the item-specific proportion congruence [ISPC] effect) appears to provide evidence for yet a third level of control, which modulates word reading at the item level. However, evidence to date favors the view that ISPC effects reflect the rapid prediction of high-contingency responses and not item-specific control. In Experiment 1, we first show that an ISPC effect is obtained when the relevant dimension (i.e., color) signals proportion congruency, a problematic pattern for theories based on differential response contingencies. In Experiment 2, we replicate and extend this pattern by showing that item-specific control settings transfer to new stimuli, ruling out alternative frequency-based accounts. In Experiment 3, we revert to the traditional design in which the irrelevant dimension (i.e., word) signals proportion congruency. Evidence for item-specific control, including transfer of the ISPC effect to new stimuli, is apparent when 4-item sets are employed but not when 2-item sets are employed. We attribute this pattern to the absence of high-contingency responses on incongruent trials in the 4-item set. These novel findings provide converging evidence for reactive control of color-word Stroop interference at the item level, reveal theoretically important factors that modulate reliance on item-specific control versus contingency learning, and suggest an update to the item-specific control account (Bugg, Jacoby, & Chanani, 2011).

Unconscious context-specific proportion congruency effect in a stroop-like task

“…Overall, our results lend support to the currently widely held view that the classical division between automatic and controlled processes (Posner & Snyder, 1975;Schneider & Shiffrin, 1977;Shiffring & Schneider, 1977) is in need of a thorough revision (Bugg & Hutchison, 2013;Crump et al, 2008;Shedden et al, 2012). According to this division, controlled and automatic are conceptualized as categories belonging to a general and disjunctive classification of processes that makes it contradictory even to talk about automatic control.…”

Neural correlates of the reverse Simon effect in the Hedge and Marsh task

“…Similar interpretations may apply to the Stroop and Flanker effects. In addition, the interference effects may be modulated by the proportion of congruent to incongruent trials (i.e., proportion congruency effect) (Abrahamse, Duthoo, Notebaert, & Risko, 2013;Bugg & Hutchison, 2013;Jacoby, Lindsay, & Hessels, 2003;Lindsay & Jacoby, 1994;Logan & Zbrodoff, 1979;Wühr, Duthoo, & Notebaert, 2014) and the type of a preceding trial (i.e., Gratton effect) (T. Egner, 2007;Gratton, Coles, & Donchin, 1992;Schmidt & Weissman, 2014;Ullsperger, Bylsma, & Botvinick, 2005), reflecting the dynamics of cognitive control (but see alternative interpretations, Hommel, Proctor, & Vu, 2004;Schmidt, 2013;Schmidt & Besner, 2008;Schmidt & De Houwer, 2012).…”

Congruency precues moderate item-specific proportion congruency effects

“…Importantly, there is evidence that such information is not merely stimulus-response associations; rather, participants appear to learn more abstract stimulusattention associations (e.g., MI word-minimize attention to the word). For instance, Bugg and Hutchison (2013) demonstrated that ISPC effects for MI words could occur even when these words were (later) presented in new colors, showing that these words bias attention away from word reading in general, rather than simply triggering a learned associative response.…”