The role of response conflict in concealed information detection with reaction times

Abstract

The concealed information test (CIT) presents various probe (familiar) items amidst irrelevant (unfamiliar) items. When the probe items appear, reaction time (RT) slows down. This RT-CIT effect has been accounted for by a conflict resulting from the need to deny familiarity of the familiar probes. The present pre-registered study (n = 292) examined whether response conflict is sufficient to account for the RT-CIT effect, using city and name items. Specifically, we compared the common conflict condition, where the response buttons emphasized familiarity of CIT items (“unfamiliar” versus “familiar”), to a novel no conflict condition, where the buttons emphasized categorical membership (“city” versus “name”). In line with our expectations, the RT-CIT effect was substantially stronger in the conflict condition; yet, it remained significant even in the no conflict condition. This implies a critical role for response conflict, but also suggests that other mechanisms (e.g. orientation to significant stimuli) may contribute to the RT-CIT effect.