Neural Cybernetics of Executive Control and Learning

The Two Sides of Temporal Orienting

Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) ◽

10.1027/1618-3169/a000018 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 57 (2) ◽

pp. 142-148 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Ángel Correa ◽

Paola Cappucci ◽

Anna C. Nobre ◽

Juan Lupiáñez

Keyword(s):

Executive Control ◽

Stroop Effect ◽

Traffic Situation ◽

Target Onset ◽

Stimulus Features ◽

Two Sides ◽

Spatial Stroop Effect ◽

Probable Interval ◽

Spatial Stroop ◽

Temporal Orienting

Would it be helpful to inform a driver about when a conflicting traffic situation is going to occur? We tested whether temporal orienting of attention could enhance executive control to select among conflicting stimuli and responses. Temporal orienting was induced by presenting explicit cues predicting the most probable interval for target onset, which could be short (400 ms) or long (1,300 ms). Executive control was measured both by flanker and Simon tasks involving conflict between incompatible responses and by the spatial Stroop task involving conflict between perceptual stimulus features. The results showed that temporal orienting facilitated the resolution of perceptual conflict by reducing the spatial Stroop effect, whereas it interfered with the resolution of response conflict by increasing flanker and Simon effects. Such opposite effects suggest that temporal orienting of attention modulates executive control through dissociable mechanisms, depending on whether the competition between conflicting representations is located at perceptual or response levels.

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Conscious and Unconscious Reward Cues Can Affect a Critical Component of Executive Control

Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) ◽

10.1027/1618-3169/a000104 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 58 (5) ◽

pp. 370-375 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Rémi L. Capa ◽

Gaëlle M. Bustin ◽

Axel Cleeremans ◽

Michel Hansenne

Keyword(s):

Correct Response ◽

Executive Control ◽

Critical Component ◽

Arithmetic Operations ◽

Component Process

The present study investigates whether updating an important function of executive control can be driven by unconscious reward cues. Participants had to memorize several numbers and update those numbers independently according to a sequence of arithmetic operations. At the beginning of each trial, a reward (1 euro or 5 cents) was presented, either subliminally or supraliminally. Participants could earn the reward if they found the correct response on the updating task. Results showed better performance when a high (conscious or unconscious) reward was at stake compared to a low reward. This suggests that subliminal information can influence a component process of executive control traditionally thought to require consciousness.

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