The role of affect and reward in the conflict-triggered adjustment of cognitive control

Abstract

Adapting to changing task demands is one of the hallmarks of human cognition. According to an influential theory, the conflict monitoring theory, the adaptation of information processing occurs in a context-sensitive manner in that conflicts signal the need for control recruitment. Starting from the conflict monitoring theory, here the authors discuss the role of affect in the context of conflict-triggered processing adjustments from three different perspectives: (1) the affective value of conflict per se, (2) the affective modulation of conflict-triggered processing adjustments, and (3) the modulation of conflict adaptation by reward. Based on the current empirical evidence, the authors stress the importance of disentangling effects of affect and reward on conflict-triggered control adjustments. © 2012 Dreisbach and Fischer.