Project Details
Projekt
FOR 778: Conflicts as Signals in Cognitive Systems
Subject Area
Social and Behavioural Sciences
Humanities
Humanities
Term
from 2006 to 2020
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 26108797
Conflicts in cognitive systems arise when at least two incompatible behavioural tendencies or motivations coexist. By far, most of the existing research on conflicts in cognitive systems has been based on the assumption that conflicts reflect incompatible tendencies between inflexible elementary properties of the system, developed in the course of the evolution because of environmental pressures. According to this view, the study of conflicts increases our understanding of the elementary properties of cognitive systems. These properties are often assumed to relate, on the one hand, to the architecture of the system (e.g., limited capacity, simultaneous multi-level information processing), and, on the other hand, to processing within the system (e.g., selection of input information and behaviour, differentiation between relevant and non-relevant memory representations).
Traditional approaches investigate features of the cognitive system eliciting interference and, hence, producing conflicts. In contrast to traditional accounts, we will focus on the benefits of conflicts in cognitive systems for subsequent information processing. Conflicts are regarded as signals that call for adaptive processes.
The general goal of the Research Unit proceeds from the assumption that conflicts can be viewed as signals that are utilised to optimise information processing in the cognitive system.
Consequently, our research focusses on increasing our understanding of the interaction between conflict signals and subsequent processes of optimisation within the system, on unraveling the neuronal implementation of the mechanisms mediating between the registration of a conflict and subsequent processing modulations, on identifying ontogenetic modifications of the nature of the interaction between conflicts and processes of optimisation over the life course, and on determining the roles of individual differences and affects in conflict identification and utilisation.
Traditional approaches investigate features of the cognitive system eliciting interference and, hence, producing conflicts. In contrast to traditional accounts, we will focus on the benefits of conflicts in cognitive systems for subsequent information processing. Conflicts are regarded as signals that call for adaptive processes.
The general goal of the Research Unit proceeds from the assumption that conflicts can be viewed as signals that are utilised to optimise information processing in the cognitive system.
Consequently, our research focusses on increasing our understanding of the interaction between conflict signals and subsequent processes of optimisation within the system, on unraveling the neuronal implementation of the mechanisms mediating between the registration of a conflict and subsequent processing modulations, on identifying ontogenetic modifications of the nature of the interaction between conflicts and processes of optimisation over the life course, and on determining the roles of individual differences and affects in conflict identification and utilisation.
DFG Programme
Research Units
International Connection
Switzerland
Projects
- Adaptive Aufmerksamkeitsprozesse bei Konflikten (Applicant Brandt, Stephan A. )
- Emotionen in kognitiven Konflikten (Applicant Sommer, Werner )
- Individuelle Unterschiede in kognitiven Konflikten, Spielkonflikten und Belohnungsaufschubkonflikten als Determinanten von Schulleistungen und schulbezogener Devianz (Applicant Wilhelm, Oliver )
- Intentionalität und Spezifität konfliktbedingter Anpassungsprozesse (Applicant Stürmer, Birgit )
- Konflikte als Auslöser von Strategieoptiminierung (Applicant Frensch, Peter A. )
- Modellgeleitete neurokognitive Analyse lexiko-semantischer und orthographisch-phonologischer Konflikte beim impliziten und expliziten Wiedererkennen (Applicant Jacobs, Arthur M. )
- Neurokognition der Handlungsüberwachung: Funktionelle und räumliche Dissoziation von Komponenten des (gestörten) Monitorings richtiger und falscher Reaktionen (Applicant Endrass, Tanja )
- Neuromodulation of Cognitive Monitoring across Adult Development: A Genomic Imaging Project (Applicant Li, Ph.D., Shu-Chen )
- Zentralprojekt (Applicant Frensch, Peter A. )
Spokesperson
Professor Dr. Peter A. Frensch, since 8/2009
