Exploring the differences in distributional properties between Stroop and Simon effects using delta plots

Stroop and Simon tasks are logically similar and are often used to investigate cognitive control and inhibition processes. We compare the distributional properties of Stroop and Simon effects with delta plots and find different although stable patterns. Stroop effects across a variety of conditions are smallest for fast responses and increase as responses slow. Simon effects across a variety of conditions, however, are largest for fast responses but decrease, and even reverse, as responses slow. We show in three experiments that these diverging patterns hold within participants and even when the stimulus materials are identical across the tasks. These stable differences in time course serve as bedrock phenomena for building and testing theories of cognitive control and inhibition. The results of two additional experiments suggest that the determinant of time course is not simply whether the distracting information is location.