Domain-General Conflict Adaptation Induced by Conflict Observation

Chen Yongqiang; Li Zhifang; Chen Antao

doi:10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20250206

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Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2025, Vol. 48 ›› Issue (2) : 318-333. DOI: 10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20250206

General Psychology, Experimental Psychology & Ergonomics

Domain-General Conflict Adaptation Induced by Conflict Observation

Chen Yongqiang¹, Li Zhifang², Chen Antao³

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Abstract

The generality and specificity of conflict adaptation across various domains can enhance our understanding of how the brain processes information and adapts to the environment. However, it remains unclear whether conflict adaptation is domain-general or domain-specific. Limitations in task design and insufficient control for confounding factors have contributed to this unresolved issue. In factorial designs, conflicts that compound within a single trial typically interact rather than operate independently, making it difficult to draw conclusions about domain specificity or generality. In contrast, task-switch designs can largely prevent such interactions by presenting different conflicts in separate trials. However, results obtained using task-switch designs have been inconsistent. Furthermore, feature integration, contingency learning, or temporal learning may have confounded the outcomes of previous factorial and task-switch designs. The present study aims to determine whether conflict adaptation is domain-general or domain-specific by employing a LOOK-DO transition, a task-switch design, and a confounder-minimized procedure in three experiments.
To control for feature integration and contingency learning, the stimuli were divided into two groups. Stimuli within each group were paired randomly, with no combinations made across groups. Stimuli from different groups were presented alternately. The LOOK-DO design required participants to observe in the previous trial and respond in the current trial, thereby helping to eliminate the influence of temporal learning on conflict adaptation. In Experiment 1, participants were asked to identify the central letter among five horizontally aligned letters in a letter version of the Flanker task. Prior to the presentation of these letters, a cue (“*” or “+”) was displayed for 500ms, followed by a jittered blank screen for 300~500ms. If the cue was “*”, participants needed to observe whether a conflict was present. Conversely, if the cue was “+”, participants were instructed to identify the central letter and provide a keypress response. An inter-trial interval of 800~1200ms preceded the next trial. In Experiment 2, participants completed both the Flanker task and a color-word Stroop task in separate trials within one of eleven blocks. The other settings in Experiment 2 were consistent with those in Experiment 1. Experiment 3 involved the same tasks as Experiment 2 but included the collection of EEG data from participants.
The main results indicate that conflict observation induced conflict adaptation in the Flanker task. This finding suggests that merely observing a conflict can trigger subsequent control adjustments, resulting in conflict adaptation. Furthermore, the LOOK Stroop conflict prompted the conflict adaptation in the DO Flanker task, and vice versa. This demonstrates that conflict observation can trigger cross-task conflict adaptation. The replication of the behavioral findings from Experiment 2, coupled with the significant conflict adaptation observed in the N450/SP during the Flanker-Stroop sequence and in the P3 during the Stroop-Flanker sequence, strengthens this conclusion. Overall, the above results indicate that conflict signals can initiate a general control adjustment process that leads to cross-task conflict adaptation at both the behavioral and neural levels. Furthermore, the significant conflict effects observed in the N2 and P3 components during the LOOK Flanker trials, as well as in the N450 and SP components during the LOOK Stroop task, provide compelling evidence that mere observation can generate conflict signals and trigger control adjustment processes. This finding aligns with the original definition of conflict in conflict monitoring theory, which defined conflict as the coactivation of incompatible representations. The generality of conflict adaptation may stem from the similar selective attention mechanisms present in both the Stroop and Flanker tasks. Additionally, observing conflict may enhance response readiness and improve the efficiency of the selective attention processes required to resolve the current conflict, ultimately facilitating the generality of conflict adaptation. Future research should operationally define similarity in different ways and utilize observation-response designs to further explore the relationship between similarity and conflict adaptation.

Key words

conflict adaptation effect / domain-generality / LOOK-DO transition / task-switch / conflict monitoring theory

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Chen Yongqiang, Li Zhifang, Chen Antao. Domain-General Conflict Adaptation Induced by Conflict Observation[J]. Journal of Psychological Science. 2025, 48(2): 318-333 https://doi.org/10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20250206

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