Tracking continuities in the flanker task: From continuous flow to movement trajectories
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Tracking continuities in the flanker task: From continuous flow to movement trajectories Christopher D. Erb 1
&
Katie A. Smith 1 & Jeff Moher 2
Accepted: 15 September 2020 # The Psychonomic Society, Inc. 2020
Abstract Since its introduction nearly a half century ago, the Eriksen flanker task has prompted multiple theoretical and methodological advancements in the study of attention and control. Early research with the task inspired the continuous flow model of information processing, which in turn prompted researchers to investigate the dynamics of response competition using continuous behavioral measures. In recent years, the use of such measures in psychological research has increased dramatically as handtracking techniques have become more widely accessible. The current article highlights commonly overlooked links between Eriksen and colleagues’ pioneering research investigating the continuous flow model and recent hand-tracking research investigating the dynamics of attention and control. After providing an overview of two hand-tracking techniques frequently used in psychological research, we review a series of recent studies that have used these techniques to investigate how the processes underlying attention and control (a) unfold over the course of a response (within-trial dynamics), (b) are impacted by recent experience (cross-trial dynamics), and (c) contribute to age-related changes observed across the life span (developmental dynamics). In addition to highlighting the central role that the flanker task has played in advancing psychological research and theory, this review underscores the advantages of collecting continuous behavioral measures, both in Eriksen’s seminal work and in contemporary hand-tracking studies. Keywords Attention . Cognitive control . Flanker task . Mouse tracking . Reach tracking
Introduction Throughout his career, Charles W. Eriksen advanced psychological research and theory by developing and refining the methods used to investigate attention and control (e.g., Eriksen, 1952; Eriksen et al., 1985; Eriksen & Eriksen, 1974; Eriksen & Hoffman, 1972, 1973; Eriksen & Spencer, 1968; Lappin & Eriksen, 1966). In 1972, Eriksen and Hoffman introduced a task in which participants identified a target stimulus flanked by distractor stimuli. Eriksen and Hoffman (1973) and Eriksen and Eriksen (1974) subsequently altered the task to compare performance on congruent trials in which the target and distractors cued the same response (e.g.,
* Christopher D. Erb [email protected] 1
School of Psychology, University of Auckland, 23 Symonds Street, Building 302, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
2
Department of Psychology, Connecticut College, 270 Mohegan Avenue, New London, CT 06320, USA
HHHHH) with incongruent trials in which the target and distractors cued competing responses (e.g., SSHSS). Results from the task revealed a congruency effect with slower response times on incongruent than congruent trials, suggesting that competing response activations on incongruent arrays delayed the e
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