Automatic and controlled stimulus processing in conflict tasks: Superimposed diffusion processes and delta functions

Linking Theoretical Decision-making Mechanisms in the Simon Task with Electrophysiological Data: A Model-based Neuroscience Study in Humans

“…In incompatible trials, the early incorrect automatic activation hampers the decision process and increases the likelihood of an incorrect choice. Ulrich et al (2015) demonstrated that the DMC captures all the behavioral peculiarities of Simon task performance. Moreover, the model can explain data from other conflict tasks by variations in the characteristic time parameter τ of the gamma automatic activation.…”

“…CAFs were constructed by sorting the RT data into five bins of equal size; the proportion of errors in each RT bin was then computed, providing the error data considered in the fitting procedure. Model predictions were obtained by running Monte Carlo simulations with an integration constant dt = 1 msec and a diffusion noise σ fixed at 4, similar to Ulrich et al (2015). Predicted and observed data were compared through a likelihood ratio chi-square statistic, G 2 :…”

“…Although the majority of studies seeking to address complex decisions have dealt with multiple-choice tasks (e.g., Keuken et al, 2015;Ratcliff & Starns, 2013;Van Maanen et al, 2012;Leite & Ratcliff, 2010;Albantakis & Deco, 2009;Churchland, Kiani, & Shadlen, 2008;Usher & McClelland, 2004), others have started to uncover the mechanisms underlying decisions about relevance (Ulrich, Schröter, Leuthold, & Birngruber, 2015;Servant, Montagnini, & Burle, 2014;White, Ratcliff, & Starns, 2011;Hübner, Steinhauser, & Lehle, 2010). These studies have focused on the conflict paradigm, where task-relevant and taskirrelevant stimulus attributes compete for response activation.…”

“…These particular patterns are not naturally predicted by standard decision-making theories White et al, 2011;Hübner et al, 2010;Wagenmakers & Brown, 2007;Luce, 1986). Ulrich et al (2015) have recently introduced an extension of the drift diffusion model of perceptual decision-making (Ratcliff & McKoon, 2008;Ratcliff, 1978) able to capture RT distributions and accuracy data in the Simon task, allowing for decomposition and quantification of latent cognitive processes (hereafter referred to as diffusion model for conflict tasks [DMC]). The aim of the present work was to use the DMC as a tool to better interpret human electrophysiological measurements in the Simon task.…”

Cueing Effects in the Attentional Network Test: a Spotlight Diffusion Model Analysis

“…Overall, the SSP assumes The SSP provides a theoretical account of processing for flanker stimuli and has been shown to account for data from flanker tasks (White et al 2011). Other models exist that accomplish the same goal for flanker stimuli, including the dualstage two-phase model (Hübner et al 2010) and the diffusion model for conflict tasks (Ulrich et al 2015). However, this study focuses on the spotlight model over the others because (1) it was designed specifically for visual attention tasks with flanker stimuli, and (2) it has been shown to provide better parameter estimation from behavioral data (White, Servant, and Logan 2018), which is elaborated upon later.…”