Cognitive control in cross-modal contexts: Abstract feature transitions of task-related but not task-unrelated stimuli modulate the congruency sequence effect.

Context information can guide cognitive control, but both the extent and the underlying processes are poorly understood. Previous studies often found that the congruency sequence effect (CSE) is larger when perceptual context features (e.g., modality and format) of task-related distractors and targets repeat compared to change. However, it is unclear whether control adjustments can also be contextualized by more abstract stimulus features and/or by features of task-unrelated stimuli. The present study addressed this issue using a novel context manipulation in a confound-minimized prime-probe task. In Experiment (Exp.) 1, the modality (visual and auditory) of the distractor and target either repeated or changed. Critically, in Exp. 2, the distractor and target modality always switched, but the cross-modal intensity (brightness and loudness) could either repeat (e.g., bright → loud) or change (e.g., bright → soft). A larger CSE for context repeats (vs. changes) was observed in Exps. 1 and 2, indicating that both concrete (modality) and abstract stimulus features (cross-modal intensity) can contextualize control adjustments. Exps. 3 and 4 demonstrated that the CSE was not reliably affected when the context manipulation concerned a prior signal or a simultaneous background stimulus. Thus, task-related, but not task-unrelated, concrete and abstract stimulus features contextualize control adjustments. Moreover, distributional (delta plot) analyses of present and previous data revealed that the confound-minimized CSE and its contextual modulation reflect adjustments in the strength of cognitive control rather than in its timing. Overall, the present study provides new insights into how context information interacts with cognitive control to optimize decision making under conflict. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).