Adding the Fourth Dimension: Investigating Cognitive Control across Time
Open AccessCognitive control is one’s ability to inhibit an automatic response to a situation in favor of a response that is more appropriate. This ability allows flexible behavior by enabling us to adjust our behavior to fit the environment. The work described in this dissertation examines the timeline of conflict, focusing on two aspects: before a response and after a response. Specifically, we investigated whether information one receives prior to a response can cause conflict (first two studies) and whether memory of conflict influences subsequent behavior (third study). In Study 1, we found evidence that memory of something immediately preceding the response could cause conflict. This effect was modulated by conflict adaptation effects, hallmarks of the cognitive control system, suggesting cognitive control was engaged. In Study 2, we examined one step further back in the pre-response timeline by testing whether information in memory could cause conflict if there was an intervening stimulus. In so doing, we were also able to test an alternative, bottom-up, explanation for the conflict adaptation effects. We found that conflict did persist through the intervening event and that the bottom-up explanation was not sufficient to explain the conflict adaptation effects. These findings supported the conclusion that memory contents can cause conflict and engage cognitive control. Study 3 examined how response inhibition, a key component to cognitive control, influences subsequent visual search. Specifically, the third study tested two hypothesized mechanisms for post-inhibition effects: adjustments in general control settings and memory associations made between the inhibition and the stimulus. Evidence was found for both, suggesting that both mechanisms contribute to post-inhibition slowing.
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