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Previous studies have suggested that performance-contingent reward can modulate cognitive control by biasing irrelevant location-response associations in the Simon task. However, the influence of reward in the case of irrelevant words (Stroop task) or irrelevant flankers (Eriksen Flanker task) remains unclear. Across two preregistered experiments, the present study investigated the influence of reward on conflict processing with different types of distractors. Conflict effects on mean reaction time (RT) were reduced in the Simon task (Experiments  1 and 2 ) when incongruent versus congruent trials were rewarded, and this modulating effect of reward on conflict processing was also observed in the Eriksen flanker task (Experiment 2 ), but not in the Stroop task (Experiment  1 ). We propose that cognitive control adjustments to distractor-specific reward contingencies can be generalized across distractor types producing both perceptual-related (Flanker task) and motor-related (Simon task) conflict, but, if any, to a limited degree when distractors produce additional higher-level task conflict (Stroop task). In addition, distributional RT analyses (delta plots) revealed that rewarded distractor-response associations modulate cognitive control not only via biasing the strength (Simon and Eriksen tasks) but also the time-course of suppressing distractor processing (Eriksen task). Overall, the present study dissociated distractor-general and distractor-specific effects of reward on cognitive control.

Interference created by incongruent stimuli in the classic Stroop task appears to be a complex phenomenon, attributed to multiple sources: task conflict (created by the possibility of engaging both word reading and color naming), semantic conflict (created by incompatibility between the concepts denoted by the word and the color), and response conflict (created when the word and the color are associated with two different possible responses). This composite view has seen little use in other conflict tasks, even though interference might reflect multiple sources of conflict in those tasks as well. The current pre-registered study attempted to decompose interference in the classic flanker task. A sample of 130 participants from two countries identified a centrally presented letter while ignoring flanking stimuli, which could be of ten different types (from least to most expected interference: no flanker, simple dots, patches of random visual noise, meaningless simple shapes, meaningless complex shapes, meaningful pictograms, digits, non-response set letters, and letters belonging to the response set; congruent trials were also included as a reference). The results clearly showed cumulative levels of interference as flankers became processable, meaningful, and identifiable as a possible response, indicating that different types of conflict do contribute to interference in the flanker task. The results broadly map onto the task, semantic, and response types of conflict identified in the Stroop task, with a few nuances. Our findings suggest that the presence of multiple sources of conflict may be a very general phenomenon in conflict tasks, extending well beyond Stroop interference.

A central question in cognitive psychology concerns how humans selectively attend to task-relevant information while ignoring task-irrelevant information. This question is frequently studied using conflict tasks, such as the Simon, Eriksen flanker, and Stroop tasks that require responses to relevant stimulus features while ignoring irrelevant and potentially conflicting features. All conflict tasks produce better performance in congruent trials where task-relevant features and irrelevant features match compared with when they mismatch in incongruent trials: the congruency effect. However, they differ markedly in the temporal dynamics of this congruency effect and accordingly in their RT distributions. The Diffusion Model for Conflict tasks (DMC) was introduced as a model to formally account for all distributional patterns in conflict tasks. It integrates dual-route theories of cognitive control into the framework of sequential sampling models by positing two superimposed, independent evidence accumulation processes: a linear one for controlled processing of the task-relevant information, and a pulse-like one for automatic processing of the task-irrelevant information, in which activation first increases until a maximum and then decreases again. This review summarizes DMC's architecture, its core parameters, and its ability to account for various distributional patterns. We review and discuss applications of DMC across several psychological domains, and technical considerations such as parameter estimation and recovery. Limitations of the model are critically assessed, and fields of open research are outlined. Overall, DMC offers a general account of conflict processing. While a powerful tool for quantifying the dynamics of selective attention and cognitive control, there is still a limited standardization in its application, and more research is needed to extend DMC to other classes of conflict tasks.

Job autonomy is crucial for employee creativity. However, findings in past research on the relationship between creativity and job autonomy have been inconsistent. In this study we explored the mechanism and boundary condition underlying the relationship between job autonomy and employee creativity. Using data obtained through a survey conducted with 86 supervisors and 307 subordinates in 86 teams, we found that job autonomy positively predicted employee creativity through intrinsic motivation. Moreover, team relationship conflict negatively moderated the relationship between job autonomy and employee intrinsic motivation, and task conflict positively moderated this relationship. Theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed.

Purpose The aim of this study is to understand the levels (i.e. mild vs intense) of task conflict (TC) expressions between angel investors and entrepreneurs at the post-investment stage and how it affect angel investors’ follow-on investment intentions with the same entrepreneur. Design/methodology/approach Survey data was gathered from 71 angel investors in China. Mplus was used to test the proposed research model. Findings This study found that angels perceive affective conflict (AC) when engaged in intense TC, unlike the case for mild TC expressions. Furthermore, the analysis shows that, unlike mild TC expressions, intense TC expressions impede angels’ reinvestment intentions when they perceive ACs. Other results indicate that when angels perceive that entrepreneurs are not open to coaching, the prominence of mild TC expression is sharply mitigated and becomes as detrimental as intense TC expressions. Research limitations/implications This study only focused on one specific aspect of the angel–entrepreneur post-investment relationship: The effect of their TC expressions on angels’ reinvestment intentions. By no means do the authors imply that TC expression in the angel–entrepreneur post-investment relationship is the only factor that matters to angel investors in their follow-on investment intentions with the same entrepreneur. Practical implications The findings suggest that entrepreneurs should pay careful attention to TC that may arise between them and their financiers. TCs are not entirely detrimental, but their negative effect might depend on how they are expressed. An appropriate level of TC may also improve enterprise performance and collaboration. Thus, angels and entrepreneurs should set clear goals and performance standards, where task interactions mainly focus on the goals and expected outcomes. Originality/value Prior to this study, little was known about whether all TCs potentially lead to ACs. By distinguishing between levels (i.e. mild vs intense) of TC expressions between angels and entrepreneurs, this study adds a novel aspect to it by showing that TC, in and of itself, does not necessarily lead to AC but can lead to AC once its intensity grows.

Purpose Drawing on job demands-resources theory (Bakker and Demerouti, 2017) and conservation of resources theory (Hobfoll, 1989), this study aims to investigate the roles of work task conflict and coworker support in the experience of daily work-family balance. In particular, this study theorizes work-family balance as a higher-order construct, including both psychological (work-family balance satisfaction) and social (work-family balance effectiveness) dimensions. Design/methodology/approach The authors tested the proposed model using daily diary survey data collected from 50 full-time corporate employees across five consecutive workdays in a week. The hypotheses were tested using multilevel modeling analyses. Findings Analyses show that work task conflict impedes employees’ work-family balance on a daily basis. Results also support the moderating role of coworker support, such that the negative relationship between work task conflict and work-family balance is weaker when coworker support is high. Originality/value This research contributes to the literature by considering work-family balance as a higher-order construct. Further, this research advances theoretical knowledge of the interpersonal predictors of work-family balance. This study also expands previous work by examining the dynamic relationships between interpersonal events and work-family balance.

We agree with the commentary that discrepant results across cross-task conflict adaptation studies are likely explained by methodological differences. Considering additional studies and paradigms, we argue that, collectively, the weight of the evidence suggests conflict adaptation is domain-specific; the exception being the visual world paradigm. Further argumentation is provided for why the visual world paradigm may in fact be showing domain-specific conflict adaptation within visual attentional control. The additional methodological concerns raised in the commentary about our study either do not appear consistently across all of our experiments or we provide further data or argumentation to demonstrate they are in fact not a concern. Our original article did not claim that cognitive control does not apply in language processing, but that a domain-specific account of cognitive control may be feasible and should be explored in future work.

Teams scholars have historically conceptualized and measured intragroup conflict at the team level. But emerging evidence suggests that perceptions of intragroup conflict are often not uniform, shared, or static. These findings suggest important questions about the microfoundations of intragroup conflict: Where does conflict within teams originate? And how does it evolve over time? We address these and other questions in three abductive studies. We consider four origination points—an individual, dyad, subgroup, or team—and three evolutionary trajectories—conflict continuity, contagion, and concentration. Study 1, a qualitative study of narrative accounts, and Study 2, a longitudinal social networks study of student teams, reveal that fewer than 30 percent of teams experience team-level conflict. Instead, conflict more commonly originates and persists at individual, dyadic, or subgroup levels. Study 2 further demonstrates that traditional psychometric intragroup conflict scales mask the existence of these various origins and trajectories of conflict. Study 3, a field study of manufacturing teams, reveals that individual and dyadic task conflict origins positively predict team performance, whereas traditional intragroup task conflict measures negatively predict team performance. The results raise serious concerns about current methods and theory in the team conflict literature and suggest that researchers must go beyond team-level conceptualizations of conflict.

Purpose The purpose of this paper was to examine knowledge hiding behaviours with perceived conflict types, competition and personal values of employees. Design/methodology/approach Two studies were carried out and structural equation modelling and moderated regression analyses were conducted to test the hypotheses. Findings Study I, with employees from software development companies, revealed that task conflict and relationship conflict have additive effect on knowledge hiding behaviour. Additionally, task conflict is positively related to employees’ perceived competition. However, no mediation role of perceived competition was found between conflict types and knowledge hiding. Study II, with employees from the banking sector, indicated that employees’ individualistic or collectivistic values play a moderating role between perceived task conflict and knowledge hiding behaviours. The negative effect of task conflict on knowledge hiding behaviour is higher if the individuals have individualistic personal values. Practical implications This study contributes to managers by offering some guidance on what can be the results of conflict and competition between employees and how employees’ personal values can affect conflict and knowledge hiding relation. Originality/value To the challenges of knowledge hiding behaviour outcomes for businesses, many managers should first consider the predictors of knowledge hiding and then find some solutions against the negative consequences. This study is one of the first to examine knowledge hiding with regard to conflict types, perceived competition between employees and personal values of employees.