The role of cognitive conflict-induced negative affect in adaptive performance adjustments: An ERP investigation comparing subjective experience and implicit regulation.

Conflict can induce negative affect, which may enhance performance in subsequent tasks. However, the mechanisms underlying this effect remain unclear. This electroencephalography (EEG) study investigated how subjective experience and implicit regulation of conflict influence performance adjustments. Thirty-eight participants performed a modified color-word Stroop task under two conditions: (1) 'Experience-do' where they experienced (i.e., observed and actively experienced the emotional feeling) the Stroop stimulus before responding, and (2) 'Experience-Rating-do' where they rated their emotional responses to the stimulus before responding. Behaviorally, both conditions improved performance on subsequent conflict and nonconflict trials. At the ERP level, the 'Experience-Rating-do' condition showed increased late positive potential (LPP) and P1 amplitudes in the first phase, paired with decreased conflict slow potential (SP) in the second phase. Conversely, the 'Experience-do' condition exhibited increased LPP, P1, and conflict SP amplitudes in the second phase. Crucially, these improvements in conflict adjustments were driven by distinct mechanisms: increased P1 and reduced conflict SP enhanced performance in the 'Experience-R-do' condition, while increased LPP was associated with performance gains in the 'Experience-do' condition. These findings underscore the contributions of subjective experience and implicit regulation of conflict-induced negative affect to adaptive performance adjustments, shedding light on the interplay between cognitive control and emotion.