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Stability and flexibility in cognitive control: Interindividual dynamics and task context processing

Serrien, Deborah; O'Regan, Louise

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Authors

Deborah Serrien

Louise O'Regan



Contributors

Abstract

Adaptive behaviour requires cognitive control for shielding current goals from distractors (stability) but at the same time for switching between alternative goals (flexibility). In this behavioural study, we examine the stability-flexibility balance in left- and right-handers during two types of decision-making, instructed (sensory cued) and voluntary (own choice), by means of distractor inhibition and hand/task switching. The data revealed that both groups showed opposite tendencies for instructed decision-making. Moreover, right-handers resisted distracting information more efficiently whereas left-handers showed superior switching abilities. When participants were involved in voluntary decision-making, no effects of handedness were noted, which suggests that free-choice processing alters the balance between stability and flexibility. These data illustrate that handedness is an index of individual variation during instructed decision-making, biasing the proficiency of cognitive control towards stability and flexibility of information processing. These biases can however be overruled by top-down strategies that dominate during voluntary decision-making. Overall, the research underlines the antagonistic functions of stability and flexibility in decision-making, and offers an approach for examining cognitive control and the role of internal and external factors in balancing the stability-flexibility trade-off

Citation

Serrien, D., & O'Regan, L. (2019). Stability and flexibility in cognitive control: Interindividual dynamics and task context processing. PLoS ONE, 14(7), Article e0219397. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0219397

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jul 1, 2019
Online Publication Date Jul 10, 2019
Publication Date Jul 10, 2019
Deposit Date Jul 3, 2019
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal PLOS ONE
Electronic ISSN 1932-6203
Publisher Public Library of Science
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 14
Issue 7
Article Number e0219397
DOI https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0219397
Keywords Individual differences, Handedness, Decision-making, Distractor inhibition, Hand switching, Task switching
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2262701
Publisher URL https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0219397

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