There exists a taxonomy for various conflict tasks based on the dimensional overlap between the stimulus and/or response dimensions and their relevance for task performance (e.g., see Kornblum et al., 1990). For example, the standard Simon task is classified as a Type 3 task. This task type generates a stimulus-response (S-R) compatibility effect due to dimensional overlap between the irrelevant stimulus dimension (location) and the response dimension (left or right button-press). In contrast, the manual Stroop task is classified as a Type 4 task. This task type generates a stimulus-stimulus (S-S) congruency effect due to dimensional overlap between the relevant (color) and irrelevant (color word) stimulus. According to the serial-stages model, the Stroop effect originates in an initial stimulus identification stage, while the Simon effect originates in a final response selection stage (Kornblum, 1994).

To investigate whether different types of conflict tasks are indeed qualitatively different, we employed a variation of the paradigm used in Kornblum et al. (1999) and applied an advanced distributional approach in analyzing time-to-event data, namely event history analysis (EHA). Comparing Type 3 (Simon; S-R compatibility), Type 4 (Stroop; S-R compatibility), and Type 7 (Simon x Stroop; S-S and S-R compatibility) tasks in the same set of participants, with 100 trials per participant and condition, allowed us to track the behavioral dynamics in each task. In particular, while mean reaction times suggested additivity of effects, we identified differences in onset times, durations, magnitudes, as well as temporal overlap and seriality of effects in each conflict task.