title: Conflict Adaptation and Cue Competition during Learning in an Eriksen Flanker Task.
abstract: Two experiments investigated competition between cues that predicted the correct target response to a target stimulus in a response conflict procedure using a flanker task. Subjects received trials with five-character arrays with a central target character and distractor flanker characters that matched (compatible) or did not match (incompatible) the central target. Subjects' expectancies for compatible and incompatible trials were manipulated by presenting pre-trial cues that signaled the occurrence of compatible or incompatible trials. On some trials, a single cue predicted the target stimulus and the required target response. On other trials, a second redundant, predictive cue was also present on such trials. The results showed an effect of competition between cues for control over strategic responding to the target stimuli, a finding that is predicted by associative learning theories. The finding of competition between pre-trial cues that predict incompatible trials, but not cues that predict compatible trials, suggests that different strategic processes may occur during adaptation to conflict when different kinds of trials are expected.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Behavior Sciences, Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Missouri, United States of America.
authors.forename: Rodica
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ghinescu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, United States of America.
authors.forename: Todd R
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2312-0323
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Schachtman
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Truman State University, Kirksville, Missouri, United States of America.
authors.forename: Ashley K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Ramsey
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, United States of America.
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gratton
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, United States of America.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fabiani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003463:Cues; D000066498:Emotional Adjustment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D055815:Young Adult