Phasic affective signals by themselves do not regulate cognitive control

Cognition & Emotion, vol. 37, pp. 650–665

Abstract

Cognitive control is a set of mechanisms that help us process conflicting stimuli and maintain goal-relevant behaviour. According to the Affective Signalling Hypothesis, conflicting stimuli are aversive and thus elicit (negative) affect, moreover - to avoid aversive signals - affective and cognitive systems work together by increasing control and thus, drive conflict adaptation. Several studies have found that affective stimuli can indeed modulate conflict adaptation, however, there is currently no evidence that phasic affective states not triggered by conflict also trigger improved cognitive control. To investigate this possibility, we intermixed trials of a conflict task and trials involving the passive viewing of emotional words. We tested whether affective states induced by affective words in a given trial trigger improved cognitive control in a subsequent conflict trial. Applying Bayesian analysis, the results of four experiments supported the lack of adaptation to aversive signals, both in terms of valence and arousal. These results suggest that phasic affective states by themselves are not sufficient to elicit an increase in control.

Authors 4

1. Miklos Bognar corresponding

   Eötvös Loránd University

   Affiliation as printed

   Doctoral School of Psychology, ELTE Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary

   Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary

2. Máté Gyurkovics

   University of Glasgow

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

3. Henk van Steenbergen Aachen Department of Cognitive Psychology Institute of Psychology, Leiden University Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Cognitive Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

   Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

4. Balázs Aczél

   Eötvös Loránd University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary