Proactive control declines while reactive control is preserved across the adult lifespan.

ABSTRACT: We provide a comprehensive investigation of proactive and reactive control during Stroop task performance with younger, middle-aged, and older adults to test predictions of the dual mechanisms of control framework. A novel color-word vocal response paradigm was utilized with separate proactive, baseline, and reactive conditions, which differed in list-wide and item-specific proportion congruencies, along with matched and randomly alternating color naming and word reading blocks. When compared to baseline, the proactive condition indexes processes that actively maintain goal-relevant information during contexts in which distraction is expected, while the reactive condition indexes dynamic adjustment processes engaged when items associated with high cognitive control demands are unpredictabl

SUBMITTER: Ileri-Tayar M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12380129 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature