Exploring the differences in distributional properties between Stroop and Simon effects using delta plots

• Published in: Attention, perception & psychophysics Vol. 72; no. 7; pp. 2013 - 2025
• Main Authors: Pratte, Michael S., Rouder, Jeffrey N., Morey, Richard D., Feng, Chuning
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer-Verlag 01.10.2010; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Activity levels. Psychomotricity; Attention; Attention Deficit Disorders; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Biological and medical sciences; Cognition & reasoning; Cognitive Psychology; Conflict (Psychology); Context Effect; Executive Function; Experiments; Feedback (Response); Functional Laterality; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Inhibition; Inhibition (Psychology); Models, Statistical; Orientation; Psychological Theory; Psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Psychomotor activities; Psychomotor Performance; Reaction Time; Schizophrenia; Stroop Test - statistics & numerical data; Stroop Task; Simon Effect; Congruency Effect; Simon Task; Stroop Effect; Human; Spatial compatibility; Stroop effect; Stimulus response compatibility; Cognition; Inhibition; Experimental study; Cognitive control; Comparative study
• ISSN: 1943-3921; 1943-393X
• DOI: 10.3758/APP.72.7.2013

Stroop and Simon tasks are logically similar and are often used to investigate cognitive control and inhibition processes. We compare the distributional properties of Stroop and Simon effects with delta plots and find different although stable patterns. Stroop effects across a variety of conditions are smallest for fast responses and increase as responses slow. Simon effects across a variety of conditions, however, are largest for fast responses but decrease, and even reverse, as responses slow. We show in three experiments that these diverging patterns hold within participants and even when the stimulus materials are identical across the tasks. These stable differences in time course serve as bedrock phenomena for building and testing theories of cognitive control and inhibition. The results of two additional experiments suggest that the determinant of time course is not simply whether the distracting information is location.