Stability and flexibility in cognitive control: Interindividual dynamics and task context processing

Serrien, Deborah J.; Louise O’Regan · 2019 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219397

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Summary

This study investigates the balance between cognitive stability (shielding goals from distractors) and flexibility (switching between goals) in left- and right-handed individuals. The research addresses how handedness, a marker of neural asymmetry, influences cognitive control during two distinct decision-making contexts: instructed (externally cued) and voluntary (internally generated). The authors hypothesize that handedness biases the stability-flexibility trade-off during instructed tasks, with left-handers potentially exhibiting greater flexibility due to increased interhemispheric communication, while right-handers may demonstrate superior stability. The experimental design involved 42 participants (21 left-handers and 21 right-handers) who performed numerical judgment tasks (odd/even or greater/less than 5). The study utilized three primary paradigms: instructed distractor inhibition, instructed task/hand switching, and voluntary switching. In the instructed inhibition task, participants responded to target numbers while ignoring congruent distractors. In the instructed switching task, participants switched tasks or response hands based on external cues. In the voluntary switching task, participants freely chose which task to perform on intermittent trials. Performance was measured via response times, accuracy, and switching rates, with statistical analyses including mixed-design ANOVAs and correlation tests. The results revealed distinct handedness effects during instructed decision-making. Right-handers demonstrated superior stability, evidenced by significantly lower inhibition costs (smaller response time increases in the presence of distractors) compared to left-handers. Conversely, left-handers exhibited superior flexibility, showing significantly lower switching costs for both task and hand switches than right-handers. These findings indicate that right-handers are more efficient at maintaining goals against interference, while left-handers are more efficient at updating goals. However, during voluntary decision-making, no significant differences in response times or switching rates were observed between the two groups, suggesting that free-choice processing neutralizes the handedness-related biases seen in instructed tasks. Additionally, correlation analyses indicated a negative relationship between voluntary repeat rates and instructed inhibition response times, and a positive relationship between voluntary switch rates and instructed switching accuracy, highlighting computational overlaps between the two decision-making modes. The study concludes that handedness serves as an index of individual variation in cognitive control, specifically biasing the balance between stability and flexibility during externally driven tasks. Right-handers favor stability, while left-handers favor flexibility. These biases are overridden during voluntary decision-making, where top-down strategies dominate. The findings underscore the antagonistic nature of stability and flexibility in adaptive behavior and suggest that individual differences in neural asymmetry influence how cognitive resources are allocated in response to external versus internal demands. This work provides a framework for understanding how internal factors like handedness interact with task context to shape cognitive control efficiency.

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• executive function