Abstract
Conflict monitoring theory states that response conflict triggers conflict adaptation, resulting in reduced congruency effects after response-incongruent trials (Botvinick, Braver, Barch, Carter, & Cohen, 2001). Verbruggen, Notebaert, Liefooghe, and Vandierendonck (2006) observed conflict adaptation after stimulus-incongruent trials without any response conflict. In this study, we further explore the hypothesis that stimulus conflict is an important trigger for conflict adaptation. We propose a measure for stimulus conflict that adequately explains the data of Verbruggen et al. and new data from a numerical flanker task. We conclude that stimulus conflict and response conflict have dissociable effects on behavior Whereas response conflict is a good predictor of response times, stimulus conflict is a better predictor of the adaptation effect.
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Notebaert, W., Verguts, T. Stimulus conflict predicts conflict adaptation in a numerical flanker task. Psychon Bull Rev 13, 1078–1084 (2006). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03213929
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03213929