Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The influence of response conflict on voluntary task switching: a novel test of the conflict monitoring model

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Psychological Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The conflict monitoring model of cognitive control posits that response conflict triggers a top-down enhancement of a task’s representation in working memory. In the present study, we conducted a novel test of the conflict monitoring model using a voluntary task switching paradigm. We predicted that a task’s representation would be enhanced following events associated with high response conflict (i.e., incongruent trials and incorrect responses), leading participants to voluntarily choose to repeat that task more often after these events than after events associated with low response conflict (i.e., congruent trials and correct responses). In two experiments, performance following incongruent trials was consistent with the conflict monitoring model. However, performance following incorrect trials did not fit with the model’s predictions. These findings provide novel support for the conflict monitoring model while revealing new effects of incorrect trials that the model cannot explain.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. In the conflict monitoring model (Botvinick, et al., 2001), errors are linked to a shift along the speed-accuracy tradeoff function that leads participants to respond more slowly and more accurately after making an error than after making a correct response. However, there is no reason why such a shift could not co-occur with an increase in the activation of the current task’s representation in working memory.

  2. The lack of an overall task-repetition bias is unlikely to have resulted from the end-of-block feedback, which indicated the proportion of trials in which a participant had chosen to switch tasks. Indeed, in a different study from our laboratory, we observed a task-repetition bias even when such feedback was given (Orr, Gehring, & Weissman, 2010). However, the lack of an overall task-repetition bias may have resulted from the variable task–key mapping that was employed.

References

  • Allport, A., Styles, E. A., & Hsieh, S. (1994). Shifting intentional set: Exploring the dynamic control of tasks. In C. Umilta & M. Moscovitch (Eds.), Control of cognitive processes: Attention and performance XV (Vol. 15, pp. 421–452). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arrington, C. M., & Logan, G. D. (2004). The cost of a voluntary task switch. Psychological Science, 15(9), 610–615. doi:10.1111/j.0956-7976.2004.00728.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arrington, C. M., & Logan, G. D. (2005). Voluntary task switching: Chasing the elusive homunculus. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 31(4), 683–702. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.31.4.683.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arrington, C. M., Weaver, S. M., & Pauker, R. L. (2010). Stimulus-based priming of task choice during voluntary task switching. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 36(4), 1060–1067. doi:10.1037/a0019646.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arrington, C. M., & Yates, M. M. (2009). The role of attentional networks in voluntary task switching. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 16(4), 660–665. doi:10.3758/PBR.16.4.660.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baddeley, A., Emslie, H., Kolodny, J., & Duncan, J. (1998). Random generation and the executive control of working memory. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 51(4), 819–852. doi:10.1080/027249898391413.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Botvinick, M. M. (2007). Conflict monitoring and decision making: Reconciling two perspectives on anterior cingulate function. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 7(4), 356. doi:10.3758/CABN.7.4.356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Botvinick, M. M., Braver, T. S., Barch, D. M., Carter, C. S., & Cohen, J. D. (2001). Conflict monitoring and cognitive control. Psychological Review, 108(3), 624–652. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.108.3.624.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Botvinick, M. M., Cohen, J. D., & Carter, C. S. (2004). Conflict monitoring and anterior cingulate cortex: An update. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 8(12), 539–546. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2004.10.003.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, J. W., Reynolds, J. R., & Braver, T. S. (2007). A computational model of fractionated conflict-control mechanisms in task-switching. Cognitive Psychology, 55(1), 37–85. doi:10.1016/j.cogpsych.2006.09.005.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Burle, B., Possamaï, C.-A., Vidal, F., Bonnet, M., & Hasbroucq, T. (2002). Executive control in the Simon effect: An electromyographic and distributional analysis. Psychological Research, 66(4), 324–336. doi:10.1007/s00426-002-0105-6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cho, R. Y., Orr, J. M., Cohen, J. D., & Carter, C. S. (2009). Generalized signaling for control: Evidence from postconflict and posterror performance adjustments. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 35(4), 1161–1177. doi:10.1037/a0014491.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J., & Cohen, P. (1983). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences. Hillsdale, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Demanet, J., Liefooghe, B., Verbruggen, F., & Vandierendonck, A. (2010). Voluntary task switching under load: Contribution of top-down and bottom-up factors in goal-directed behavior. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 17(3), 387–393. doi:10.3758/PBR.17.3.387.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Egner, T. (2008). Multiple conflict-driven control mechanisms in the human brain. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 12(10), 374–380. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2008.07.001.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goschke, T. (2000). Intentional reconfiguration and involuntary persistence in task set switching. In S. Monsell & J. Driver (Eds.), Control of cognitive processes: Attention and performance XVIII (pp. 331–355). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gratton, G., Coles, M., & Donchin, E. (1992). Optimizing the use of information: Strategic control of activation of responses. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 121, 480–506. doi:10.1037/0096-3445.121.4.480.

  • Henik, A., & Tzelgov, J. (1982). Is three greater than five: The relation between physical and semantic size in comparison tasks. Memory & Cognition, 10(4), 389–395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hochman, E., & Meiran, N. (2005). Central interference in error processing. Memory & Cognition, 33(4), 635.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hommel, B. (1998). Event files: Evidence for automatic integration of stimulus–response episodes. Visual Cognition, 5(1), 183–216. doi:10.1080/713756773.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hommel, B. (2007). Feature integration across perception and action: Event files affect response choice. Psychological Research, 71(1), 42–63. doi:10.1007/s00426-005-0035-1.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hommel, B., Proctor, R. W., & Vu, K. P. L. (2004). A feature-integration account of sequential effects in the Simon task. Psychological Research, 68(1), 1–17. doi:10.1007/s00426-003-0132-y.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jentzsch, I., & Dudschig, C. (2009). Why do we slow down after an error? Mechanisms underlying the effects of posterror slowing. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 62(2), 209–218. doi:10.1080/17470210802240655.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kerns, J. G., Cohen, J. D., MacDonald, A. W., 3rd, Cho, R. Y., Stenger, V. A., & Carter, C. S. (2004). Anterior cingulate conflict monitoring and adjustments in control. Science, 303(5660), 1023–1026. doi:10.1126/science.1089910.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Laming, D. R. J. (1968). Information theory of choice-reaction times. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lien, M.-C., & Ruthruff, E. (2008). Inhibition of task set: Converging evidence from task choice in the voluntary task-switching paradigm. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 15(6), 1111–1116. doi:10.3758/pbr.15.6.1111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Logan, G. D., & Gordon, R. D. (2001). Executive control of visual attention in dual-task situations. Psychological Review, 108(2), 393–434. doi:10.1037/0033-295x.108.2.393.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mayr, U., Awh, E., & Laurey, P. (2003). Conflict adaptation effects in the absence of executive control. Nature Neuroscience, 6(5), 450–452. doi:10.1038/nn1051.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mayr, U., & Bell, T. (2006). On how to be unpredictable: Evidence from the voluntary task-switching paradigm. Psychological Science, 17(9), 774–780. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01781.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mayr, U., & Keele, S. W. (2000). Changing internal constraints on action: The role of backward inhibition. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 129(1), 4–26. doi:10.1037/0096-3445.129.1.4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGuire, J. T., & Botvinick, M. M. (2010). Prefrontal cortex, cognitive control, and the registration of decision costs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(17), 7922. doi:10.1073/pnas.0910662107.

  • Meiran, N. (1996). Reconfiguration of processing mode prior to task performance. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 22(6), 1423–1442. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.22.6.1423.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Notebaert, W., Gevers, W., Verbruggen, F., & Liefooghe, B. (2006). Top-down and bottom-up sequential modulations of congruency effects. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 13(1), 112–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Notebaert, W., & Verguts, T. (2007). Dissociating conflict adaptation from feature integration: A multiple regression approach. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 33(5), 1256–1260. doi:10.1037/0096-1523.33.5.1256.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Notebaert, W., & Verguts, T. (2008). Cognitive control acts locally. Cognition, 106(2), 1071–1080. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2007.04.011.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Orr, J. M., Gehring, W. J., & Weissman, D. H. (2010). ERP predictors of voluntary task switching. Paper presented at the Society for Neuroscience, San Diego, CA.

  • Rabbitt, P. M. A. (1966). Errors and error correction in choice-response tasks. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 71(2), 264–272. doi:10.1037/h0022853.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ridderinkhof, K. R. (2002). Micro- and macro-adjustments of task set: Activation and suppression in conflict tasks. Psychological Research, 66(4), 312–323. doi:10.1007/s00426-002-0104-7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ridderinkhof, K. R., Ullsperger, M., Crone, E. A., & Nieuwenhuis, S. (2004). The role of the medial frontal cortex in cognitive control. Science, 306(5695), 443–447. doi:10.1126/science.1100301.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, R. D., & Monsell, S. (1995). Costs of a predictable switch between simple cognitive tasks. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 124(2), 207–231. doi:10.1037/0096-3445.124.2.207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rubinstein, J. S., Meyer, D. E., & Evans, J. E. (2001). Executive control of cognitive processes in task switching. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 27(4), 763–797. doi:10.1037/0096-1523.27.4.763.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ullsperger, M., Bylsma, L. M., & Botvinick, M. M. (2005). The conflict adaptation effect: It’s not just priming. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 5(4), 467. doi:10.3758/CABN.5.4.467.

  • Yeung, N., Botvinick, M. M., & Cohen, J. D. (2004). The neural basis of error detection: Conflict monitoring and the error-related negativity. Psychological Review, 111(4), 931–959. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.111.4.931.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Wendelin Diab and Craig Salm for their assistance with running participants, and Raymond Y. Cho, Catherine M. Arrington, and one anonymous reviewer for helpful comments on earlier versions of the manuscript. This research was supported by a Rackham Graduate Student Research Grant and Psychology Dissertation Grant to JMO and by startup funds from the University of Michigan to DHW.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, 530 Church Street, Room 4422 East Hall, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-1043, USA

    Joseph M. Orr, Joshua Carp & Daniel H. Weissman

Authors
  1. Joseph M. Orr
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Joshua Carp
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Daniel H. Weissman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joseph M. Orr.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Orr, J.M., Carp, J. & Weissman, D.H. The influence of response conflict on voluntary task switching: a novel test of the conflict monitoring model. Psychological Research 76, 60–73 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-011-0324-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-011-0324-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation