Eriksen flanker task

The Eriksen Flanker Task is a psychological experiment used to study attention and how we process conflicting information. Participants see a central target stimulus (like a letter or arrow) surrounded by distracting stimuli (flankers). They are asked to respond based on the central stimulus while ignoring the flankers. For example, they might need to identify the middle arrow’s direction while ignoring the arrows around it, which can be pointing in the same (congruent) or opposite (incongruent) directions. This task helps researchers understand how the brain manages focus and deals with conflicting signals.