Ocular measures of controlled processing: Examining the use of proactive cognitive control in the AX-CPT

Assessing the use of proactive cognitive control is essential for understanding how thoughts and actions are regulated. The present study aimed to determine whether proactive control can be measured through patterns of eye movements during the cue-probe delay in a spatially modified AX-CPT. Across two experiments, we found that gaze activity at screen locations where cues and probes appeared predicted both the extent of proactive control adopted by participants and their ability to override a prepotent response tendency. However, the specific cognitive processes underlying the engagement of proactive control varied depending on task demands. Specifically, when the cue-probe delay was relatively short (Experiment 1), proactive control was characterized by rapid shifts in visual attention to support cognitive demands associated with frequent changes in the location of probe stimuli. In contrast, when the cue-probe delay was extended (Experiment 2), proactive control aligned with traditional conceptualizations, relying more on increased cue maintenance. Together, these results demonstrate that eye-movement patterns may serve as the foundation for ocular-based measures of proactive control, enabling further investigation into factors influencing its engagement and potential individual differences in its use. Implications that the results have for theories of controlled processing and inhibitory control are discussed.