University of Twente Student Theses
Task Switching in the Eriksen Flanker Task : Insights into Response Competition and Cognitive Control Mechanisms
Aydin, M. (2024) Task Switching in the Eriksen Flanker Task : Insights into Response Competition and Cognitive Control Mechanisms.
|
PDF
1MB |
| Abstract: | The present study investigated the influence of varying task demands and response competition on behaviour using a modified version of the Eriksen flanker task. The task was adapted to include two relevant stimulus features (shape and orientation) and incorporated task switching through a cue-based paradigm. Participants' performances were compared between pure blocks, with consistent task instructions, and mixed blocks, which required task switching. The results confirmed the presence of congruency effects, typical for the Eriksen task, with slower and less accurate responses in stimulus-incongruent trials. Additionally, task switching led to a residual switch cost, evidenced by longer reaction times and lower accuracy in mixed blocks. It furthermore intensified response competition, as shown by higher response compatibility effects in these blocks. The Affordance Competition Hypothesis (ACH) effectively accounts for these findings by suggesting that action selection and specification occur simultaneously, with affordances competing for action execution. Performance was likely influenced by the responses required by the flankers and, in mixed blocks, also the residual effects of the previous trials as well as the irrelevant stimulus feature, competing with the response required by the goal-relevant central target. This interaction either facilitated or impeded response execution depending on the compatibility of responses, i.e., whether the responses of the relevant and irrelevant features in a trial matched. Overall, the study shows that varying task demands differently impact response competition and highlights the importance of unified theoretical frameworks like the ACH, to account for such findings. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Bachelor) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 77 psychology |
| Programme: | Psychology BSc (56604) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/100557 |
| Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
Show download statistics for this publication
Show download statistics for this publicationRepository Staff Only: item control page