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How the Stroop Effect Arises from Optimal Response Times in Laterally Connected Self-Organizing Maps.
Divya Prabhakaran1, Uli Grasemann1, Swathi Kiran2
1The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712 USA.
Arxiv
|February 20, 2025
Summary
This study models the Stroop effect using self-organizing maps (SOMs), demonstrating how cognitive interference arises from optimizing response times. The model accurately simulates selective attention and executive function.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Computational Neuroscience
- Artificial Intelligence
Background:
- The Stroop effect demonstrates cognitive interference in color-naming tasks, where word-color mismatches slow responses.
- The Stroop task is a key tool for evaluating cognitive flexibility, selective attention, and executive functions.
- Understanding the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive control is crucial for explaining such effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To implement a computational model of the Stroop task using self-organizing maps (SOMs).
- To investigate how cognitive interference emerges as a byproduct of efficient information processing.
- To explore the potential of SOMs in modeling neurologically-inspired cognitive control.
Main Methods:
- Utilized self-organizing maps (SOMs) with semantic and lexical maps.
- Inputting target color and competing word to the maps.
- Employing associative and lateral connections to simulate information processing and temporal dynamics.
Main Results:
- Achieved an overall model accuracy of 84.2%.
- Demonstrated significantly fewer errors and faster responses in congruent conditions compared to incongruent and no-input conditions.
- Identified the Stroop effect as an emergent property of optimizing response times for efficient performance.
Conclusions:
- The SOM-based model successfully replicates the Stroop effect.
- The model provides insights into cognitive control as an emergent phenomenon of efficient processing.
- This approach offers a framework for studying neurologically-inspired cognitive control and related phenomena.
