title: Conflict-frequency affects flanker interference: role of stimulus-ensemble-specific practiceand flanker-response contingencies.
abstract: Performance in choice reaction time tasks deteriorates when an irrelevant stimulus feature is associated with an incorrect response (conflict condition). Such interference effects are reduced under conditions of increased conflict-frequency. Although models of cognitive control account for this modulation in terms of conflict-related attentional focusing on the target stimulus dimension, it is possible that the effect reflects practice with specific stimulus ensembles or stimulus feature-response contingencies. Using an Eriksen flanker task, we deconfounded the frequency of conflict trials and the frequency of specific stimulus ensembles (i.e., target-flanker conjunctions). In Experiments 1 and 2, flanker interference varied inversely with the frequency of conflict trials, irrespective of practice with specific target-flanker conjunctions, thereby disputing a stimulus ensemble learning account. In Experiment 3, however, flanker interference was reduced for specific flanker stimuli which occurred predominantly in conflict trials. Taken together, the findings are consistent with flanker-specific attentional adjustment or associative flanker-response priming.
authors.affiliation: Helmut-Schmidt-University/University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg, D-22043 Hamburg, Germany. Mike.Wendt@hsu-hh.de
authors.forename: Mike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wendt
authors.forename: Aquiles
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Luna-Rodriguez
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001245:Association Learning; D001288:Attention; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009949:Orientation; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011214:Practice, Psychological; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time; D012193:Reversal Learning; D055815:Young Adult