Semantic Stroop interference is modulated by the availability of executive resources: Insights from delta-plot analyses and cognitive load manipulation

• Published in: Memory & cognition Vol. 52; no. 6; pp. 1422 - 1438
• Main Authors: Sulpizio, Simone, Spinelli, Giacomo, Scaltritti, Michele
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.08.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Attention - physiology; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Cognitive Psychology; Executive function; Executive Function - physiology; Experiments; Female; Humans; Information processing; Latency; Male; Memory; Memory, Short-Term - physiology; Pattern recognition; Pattern Recognition, Visual - physiology; Psychology; Reaction Time - physiology; Semantics; Stroop Test; Young Adult; Semantic processing; Stroop; Cognitive control; Working-memory load; Visual word recognition
• DOI: 10.3758/s13421-024-01552-5
• ISSN: 0090-502X; 1532-5946

We investigated whether, during visual word recognition, semantic processing is modulated by attentional control mechanisms directed at matching semantic information with task-relevant goals. In previous research, we analyzed the semantic Stroop interference as a function of response latency (delta-plot analyses) and found that this phenomenon mainly occurs in the slowest responses. Here, we investigated whether this pattern is due to reduced ability to proactively maintain the task goal in these slowest trials. In two pairs of experiments, participants completed two semantic Stroop tasks: a classic semantic Stroop task (Experiment 1 A and 2 A) and a semantic Stroop task combined with an n -back task (Experiment 1 B and 2 B). The two pairs of experiments only differed in the trial pace, which was slightly faster in Experiments 2 A and 2 B than in Experiments 1 A and 1 B. By taxing the executive control system, the n -back task was expected to hinder proactive control. Delta-plot analyses of the semantic Stroop task replicated the enhanced effect in the slowest responses, but only under sufficient time pressure. Combining the semantic Stroop task with the n -back task produced a change in the distributional profile of semantic Stroop interference, which we ascribe to a general difficulty in the use of proactive control. Our findings suggest that semantic Stroop interference is, to some extent, dependent on the available executive resources, while also being sensitive to subtle variations in task conditions.