Tango of Control: The Interplay Between Proactive and Reactive Control

Cognitive control has been theorized operating through two distinct mechanisms, proactive and reactive control, as posited by the Dual Mechanism of Control Model (DMC). Despite the DMC potential to explain cognitive control variability, the supporting evidence remains inconclusive. Prior studies frequently employed the Stroop task to assess the DMC, manipulating the proportion of congruency (PC) at the list-wide (LWPC) and/or item-specific (ISPC) levels to target proactive and reactive control, respectively. However, these manipulations have been questioned as they may invoke low-level learning instead of control-driven mechanisms. Although solutions have been proposed to address these concerns, they still have limitations and impracticalities.In pursuit of a clearer understanding of this issue, we investigated the separability of proactive and reactive control more directly by manipulating them simultaneously. We conducted two experiments using the Peripheral and the Perifoveal spatial Stroop tasks, respectively, and we adopted state-of-the-art methodologies, leveraging multilevel modeling and trial-level analytical approaches, to effectively estimate the Stroop effect and its control-related modulations while controlling for confounding factors. Notably, we manipulated LWPC and ISPC at the trial-by-trial level, allowing for a fine-grained analysis.Our results provide compelling evidence for the existence of an LWPC-dependent proactive control mechanism, influencing Stroop performance independently of reactive control and confounding factors. Additionally, an ISPC-dependent reactive control effect was found to interact with proactive control, influencing Stroop performance, but not directly. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the interplay between proactive and reactive control mechanisms, shedding light on the intricate nature of cognitive control.