Conflict Processing Is Unaffected by Stimulus Duration Across Multiple Visual Tasks: Evidence for Transient over Permanent Activation Models

Abstract Permanent activation models of conflict tasks assume that the distractor constantly provides input into the response selection process as long as the stimulus is presented, whereas transient activation models assume that the influence of distractors is independent of stimulus duration. In the present study, we contrasted the prediction of these two architectures across different visual conflict tasks with manual responses. Specifically, we investigated the effects of short (150 ms) versus response-terminated stimulus duration on the delta plot (DP) slopes in a classic and accessory Simon task (Experiment 1), in a classic Simon and Eriksen flanker task (Experiment 2), and in a word-based (semantic) Simon and classic Stroop task (Experiment 3). Contrary to permanent activation models, all experiments revealed that the DP slopes were largely unaffected by stimulus duration. This result pattern is consistent with transient activation models such as the diffusion model for conflict tasks (DMC). Coherently, DMC was successfully fitted to the data. Importantly, the τ parameter reflecting the time course of distractor activation, as well as other parameters, were largely unaffected by stimulus duration. In conclusion, our results suggest that distractor activation in visual conflict tasks with manual responses is transient rather than permanent, and stimulus duration generally has no meaningful influence on conflict processing.