Multiple Routes to Control in the Prime-Target Task: Congruence Sequence Effects Emerge Due to Modulation of Irrelevant Prime Activity and Utilization of Temporal Order Information
DOI: 10.5334/joc.143
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Summary
This study investigates the mechanisms of cognitive control in the prime-target task, specifically addressing when and how control is exerted to manage interference. The research focuses on the congruence sequence effect (CSE), where the congruency effect is reduced on trials following an incongruent trial, reflecting adaptive control. The authors aim to determine whether control modulates early prime activity or late target activity, and whether it relies on perceptual features or temporal order information. This inquiry is motivated by conflicting theoretical accounts, such as distractor-based control models versus conflict monitoring models, and the need to clarify control processes in single-tasking contexts relevant to multitasking. Two experiments were conducted using a prime-target paradigm with arrow primes and letter targets. Participants responded to the target identity while ignoring the prime. Crucially, the temporal order of prime and target presentation was manipulated symmetrically: in half the trials, the prime preceded the target (prime→target), and in the other half, the target preceded the prime (target→prime). This design allowed for the assessment of control based on both stimulus features and temporal order in both conditions. Experiment 1a was conducted in a laboratory setting with 41 participants, and Experiment 1b was an online replication with 62 participants. The design controlled for confounds like direct stimulus repetitions and contingency learning by alternating stimulus sets and counterbalancing trial sequences. The results indicated that the CSE was significantly larger for prime→target trials compared to target→prime trials. In prime→target trials, the congruency effect was reduced following incongruent trials, whereas this effect was absent or negligible in target→prime trials. This finding suggests that control in the prime-target task primarily modulates the activity of the irrelevant prime rather than enhancing the target. Furthermore, a combined analysis revealed that the CSE was larger when the temporal order of prime and target repeated across trials (e.g., prime→target followed by prime→target) compared to when it switched. This indicates that control utilizes temporal order information, likely through an implicit task-set that relies on the relational sequence of stimuli. The significance of these findings lies in clarifying the locus and nature of interference control. The results support distractor-based control accounts, showing that control suppresses prime activity rather than amplifying target processing. Additionally, the reliance on temporal order suggests that participants spontaneously adopt implicit task-sets based on stimulus sequence, even when instructed to focus on perceptual features. This implies that multiple routes to control exist, involving both explicit instructions and implicit inferences from temporal structure. These insights refine theoretical models of cognitive control, highlighting the importance of considering task-specific mechanisms and the role of temporal information in managing interference.
Key finding
Cognitive control in the prime-target task primarily modulates irrelevant prime activity and utilizes temporal order information, as evidenced by larger congruence sequence effects when primes precede targets and when stimulus order repeats across trials.
Methodology
lab_experiment
Sample size: 103
Provenance
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| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | author_sweep | — | — | 2 | 2026-05-28 |
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| extract | success | cached | — | — | 3 | 2026-06-10 |
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| enrich | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-28 |
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| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant | summ-v5 | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
| tag | success | vector_similarity | — | — | 15 | 2026-06-11 |
| verify | success | — | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.
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