This study aims to test the interplay between task and information conflicts in the Stroop task. Specifically, we will measure task conflict (RTneutral words − RTneutral shapes) while controlling for frequency and contingency learning effects. By doing so, the current study will resolve inconsistencies and potential confounds that existed in previous studies. We will recruit 500 participants who will perform the color-word Stroop task and will be randomized to one of four different groups: mostly words with congruent trials, mostly symbols with congruent trials, mostly words with incongruent trials, and mostly symbols with incongruent trials and task conflict will be measured in each group. We predict a strong task conflict in the mostly symbols with congruent condition, indicating that task conflict can manifest independently of information conflict. Additionally, we expect an increased task conflict marker in the presence of incongruent trials, indicating that information conflict enhances task control activation.
A central question in cognitive control research is whether different forms of conflict operate independently or depend on one another. Specifically, it remains unclear whether task conflict can arise without information conflict. Task conflict is defined as a conflict arising from the automatic activation of an irrelevant task, while information conflict is defined as a conflict between two contradictory pieces of information. The present registered report addresses the independence question using a modified Stroop task that separates task from information conflict while controlling for contingency learning. Participants (N = 500) were randomly assigned to one of four list-type conditions that varied in proactive task control demands and in the presence or absence of incongruent trials (where the color-word stimuli appeared in a contradictory color): mostly symbols with congruent colors, mostly symbols with incongruent colors, mostly words with congruent colors, and mostly words with incongruent colors. Task conflict was indexed by the word interference effect, defined as the reaction time difference between neutral words and neutral shapes. Results showed that task conflict emerged even in the absence of information conflict. The magnitude of task conflict increased when incongruent trials were introduced but only under low-control conditions, suggesting that the presence of information conflict amplified rather than reduced the behavioral expression of task conflict. In contrast, under high-control contexts, task conflict was absent and unaffected by incongruent trials. These findings demonstrate that task conflict can arise independently of information conflict but that its strength is shaped by the broader cognitive control context.