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A computational account of conflict processing during mental imagery
Mengxiao Wang1,2, Qi-Yang Nie3,4
1Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau.
Cognitive, Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience
|July 31, 2024
Summary
Conflict can arise from mental rotation, independent of visual stimuli. This cognitive control interaction was modeled using the dual-stage two-phase model, revealing enhanced processing with increasing mental rotation.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Computational Modeling
Background:
- Stroop tasks traditionally examine stimulus and response conflicts.
- The emergence of conflict independent of stimulus conflict remains unclear.
- Mental rotation tasks involve spatial manipulation and cognitive effort.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate conflict processing during mental rotation.
- To determine if conflict can arise independently of stimulus conflict.
- To model the interplay between cognitive control and mental rotation.
Main Methods:
- Introduction of a novel arrow-gaze mental-rotation Stroop task.
- Utilizing a computational modeling approach for process-level analysis.
- Comparing three diffusion models: DMC, DSTP, and SSP.
Main Results:
- Conflict emerged from mental rotation, even without stimulus conflict.
- Imagery conflict strength decreased and reversed with increasing mental rotation angles.
- The dual-stage two-phase model (DSTP) provided the best account of the data.
Conclusions:
- Conflict processing is influenced by mental rotation independently of stimulus conflict.
- The dual-stage two-phase model (DSTP) effectively explains cognitive control dynamics.
- Findings suggest a novel interaction between cognitive control and mental rotation processes.
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