Investigating the role of conflict resolution in memory updating by means of the one-back choice RT task

Abstract

The current study is inspired by recent findings, which suggest that conflict is involved in the updating of memory representations. It directly addresses the relation between memory updating and conflict resolution by means of the one-back choice reaction time (RT) task, an updating task, which requires participants to postpone their response to stimulus n until the subsequent stimulus n + 1 has been presented. In three experiments, a more detailed analysis of the one-back choice RT task is presented in order to further identify the role of conflict resolution in memory updating. The findings demonstrate that the one-back choice RT task, which allows motor preparation just like a simple RT task, is in fact performed slower than a simple RT task because it additionally involves conflict resolution. It is further shown that also the response-stimulus interval of the one-back task involves processes that affect the amount of conflict in the task. In the "General discussion", the theoretical relevance of these findings for the concept of updating is discussed.