Dissociating proportion congruent and conflict adaptation effects in a Simon–Stroop procedure

Proportion congruent and conflict adaptation are two well known effects associated with cognitive control. A critical open question is whether they reflect the same or separate cognitive control mechanisms. In this experiment, in a training phase we introduced a proportion congruency manipulation for one conflict type (i.e. Simon), whereas in pre-training and post-training phases two conflict types (e.g. Simon and Spatial Stroop) were displayed with the same incongruent-to-congruent ratio. The results supported the sustained nature of the proportion congruent effect, as it transferred from the training to the post-training phase. Furthermore, this transfer generalized to both conflict types. By contrast, the conflict adaptation effect was specific to conflict type, as it was only observed when the same conflict type (either Simon or Stroop) was presented on two consecutive trials (no effect was observed on conflict type alternation trials). Results are interpreted as supporting the reactive and proactive control mechanisms distinction.

► Proportion congruent effects cannot be explained by the same mechanism than conflict adaptation effects. ► Sustained effects of proportion congruent, which impact performance on a posterior phase in which proportion is not manipulated. ► Proportion congruent effects can be unspecific to conflict type while conflict adaptation effects are specific to conflict type.