scholarly journals Modulating Proactive Cognitive Control by Reward: Differential Anticipatory Effects of Performance Contingent and Non-Contingent Rewards

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Motonori Yamaguchi

The present study investigated the influences of two different forms of reward presentation in modulating cognitive control. In three experiments, participants performed a flanker task for which one-third of trials were precued for a chance of obtaining a reward (reward trials). In Experiment 1, a reward was provided if participants made the correct response on reward trials but a penalty was given if they made an incorrect response on these trials. The anticipation of this performance-contingent reward increased response speed and reduced the flanker effect but had little influence on the sequential modulation of the flanker effect after incompatible trials. In Experiment 2, participants obtained a reward randomly on two-thirds of the precued reward trials and were given a penalty on the remaining one-third, regardless of their performance. The anticipation of this non-contingent reward had little influence on the overall response speed or flanker effect but reduced the sequential modulation of the flanker effect after incompatible trials. Experiment 3 also used performance non-contingent rewards but participants were randomly penalized more often than they were rewarded; non-contingent penalty had little influence on the sequential modulation of the flanker effect. None of the three experiments showed a reliable influence of the actual acquisition of rewards on task performance. These results indicate anticipatory effects of performance contingent and non-contingent rewards on cognitive control with little evidence of aftereffects.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Motonori Yamaguchi

The present study investigated the influences of two different forms of reward presentation in modulating cognitive control. In three experiments, participants performed a flanker task for which one-third of trials were precued for a chance of obtaining a reward (reward trials). In Experiment 1, a reward was provided if participants made the correct response on reward trials but a penalty was given if they made an incorrect response on these trials. The anticipation of this performance-contingent reward increased response speed and reduced the flanker effect but had little influence on the sequential modulation of the flanker effect after incompatible trials. In Experiment 2, participants obtained a reward randomly on two-thirds of the precued reward trials and were given a penalty on the remaining one-third, regardless of their performance. The anticipation of this non-contingent reward had little influence on the overall response speed or flanker effect but reduced the sequential modulation of the flanker effect after incompatible trials. Experiment 3 also used performance non-contingent rewards but participants were randomly penalized more often than they were rewarded; non-contingent penalty had little influence on the sequential modulation of the flanker effect. None of the three experiments showed a reliable influence of the actual acquisition of rewards on task performance. These results indicate anticipatory effects of performance contingent and non-contingent rewards on cognitive control with little evidence of aftereffects.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Motonori Yamaguchi ◽  
Jack Dylan Moore ◽  
Sarah Hendry ◽  
Felicity Wolohan

The emotional basis of cognitive control has been investigated in the flanker task with various procedures and materials across different studies. The present study examined the issue with the same flanker task but with different types of emotional stimuli and design. In seven experiments, the flanker effect and its sequential modulation according to the preceding trial type were assessed. Experiments 1 and 2 used affective pictures and emotional facial expressions as emotional stimuli, and positive and negative stimuli were intermixed. There was little evidence that emotional stimuli influenced cognitive control. Experiments 3 and 4 used the same affective pictures and facial expressions, but positive and negative stimuli were separated between different participant groups. Emotional stimuli reduced the flanker effect as well as its sequential modulation regardless of valence. Experiments 5 and 6 used affective pictures but manipulated arousal and valence of stimuli orthogonally The results did not replicate the reduced flanker effect or sequential modulation by valence, nor did they show consistent effects of arousal. Experiment 7 used a mood induction technique and showed that sequential modulation was positively correlated with valence rating (the higher the more positive) but was negatively correlated with arousal rating. These results are inconsistent with several previous findings and are difficult to reconcile within a single theoretical framework, confirming an elusive nature of the emotional basis of cognitive control in the flanker task.


2015 ◽  
Vol 66 (Suppl. 3) ◽  
pp. 38-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.A. Khan ◽  
L.B. Raine ◽  
E.S. Drollette ◽  
M.R. Scudder ◽  
N.J. Cohen ◽  
...  

Background: Cognitive control (also known as executive function) encompasses mental processes that underlie goal-directed behavior, and it enables us to adjust our behavior according to changing environmental demands. Previous research among children has demonstrated that aerobic fitness and obesity have contrasting and selective effects on cognitive control. However, the relationship between water intake and childhood cognitive control remains inadequately studied. This study investigated the relationship between total water intake and cognitive control among prepubertal children (8-9-year olds). Methods: Children between 8 and 9 years of age (n = 63) performed a modified flanker task to assess cognitive control related to inhibition (ability to resist distractions and maintain focus). Diet was measured using 3-day food records. Total water was defined as water consumed from drinking water, beverages, and food. Results: A comparison of task performance across the median intake of total water revealed that children above the median exhibited shorter reaction times across multiple conditions of the flanker task, requiring variable amounts of cognitive control. Further, after adjustment of age, IQ, socioeconomic status, weight status, and aerobic fitness level, the proportion of intake comprised of water (%TW) was negatively correlated with reaction time interference, that is, the ability to maintain task performance when task conditions demanded greater inhibition. Conclusions: These results indicate an association between water intake and cognitive control using a task that modulates inhibition. Specifically, higher water intake correlated with greater ability to maintain task performance when inhibitory demands are increased. Future work is needed to determine the mechanism by which water influences cognitive control among children.


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 752-758 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon L. Alderman ◽  
Ryan L. Olson ◽  
Diana M. Mattina

Background:The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of walking at self-selected speed on an active workstation on cognitive performance.Methods:Sixty-six participants (n = 27 males, 39 females; mean age = 21.06 ± 1.6 years) completed a treadmill-desk walking and a seated control condition, separated by 48 hours. During each condition, participants completed computerized versions of the Stroop test, a modified flanker task, and a test of reading comprehension.Results:No significant differences in response speed or accuracy were found between walking and sitting conditions for any the cognitive tests.Conclusions:These findings reveal that performance on cognitive tasks, including executive control processes, are not impaired by walking on an active workstation. Implementing active workstations into offices and classrooms may help to decrease sedentariness without impairing task performance.


2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 588-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
GIGI LUK ◽  
ERIC DE SA ◽  
ELLEN BIALYSTOK

Young English-speaking monolingual and bilingual adults were examined for English proficiency, language use history, and performance on a flanker task. The bilinguals, who were about twenty years old, were divided into two groups (early bilinguals and late bilinguals) according to whether they became actively bilingual before or after the age of ten years. Early bilinguals and monolinguals demonstrated similar levels of English proficiency, and both groups were more proficient in English than late bilinguals. In contrast, early bilinguals produced the smallest response time cost for incongruent trials (flanker effect) with no difference between monolinguals and late bilinguals. Moreover, across the whole sample of bilinguals, onset age of active bilingualism was negatively correlated with English proficiency and positively correlated with the flanker effect. These results suggest a gradient in which more experience in being actively bilingual is associated with greater advantages in cognitive control and higher language proficiency.


2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 70-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan S. Chiaburu ◽  
Troy A. Smith ◽  
Jiexin Wang ◽  
Ryan D. Zimmerman

We meta-analytically examine the relationships between three forms of leader influence, contingent reward (transactional), leader-member exchange (LMX; relational), and transformational (change-oriented) on subordinates’ proactive behaviors. Using non-self-reported data from a combined sample of more than 9,000 employees, we confirm positive relationships between leader influences and employee proactive outcomes. We examine the extent to which one leadership influence is stronger than the others in promoting subordinate proactivity. By combining our new meta-analytic data with existing meta-analytic correlations, we further investigate the extent to which various leadership predictors are differentially related to proactive and prosocial contextual performance, and to task performance. For all outcomes, there are only minimal differences between the contingent reward, LMX, and transformational leadership predictors. Using our results, we propose future research directions for the relationship between leader influences and subordinate work effectiveness.


2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rico Fischer ◽  
Caroline Gottschalk ◽  
Gesine Dreisbach

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie Marianne Yee ◽  
Sarah L Adams ◽  
Asad Beck ◽  
Todd Samuel Braver

Motivational incentives play an influential role in value-based decision-making and cognitive control. A compelling hypothesis in the literature suggests that the brain integrates the motivational value of diverse incentives (e.g., motivational integration) into a common currency value signal that influences decision-making and behavior. To investigate whether motivational integration processes change during healthy aging, we tested older (N=44) and younger (N=54) adults in an innovative incentive integration task paradigm that establishes dissociable and additive effects of liquid (e.g., juice, neutral, saltwater) and monetary incentives on cognitive task performance. The results reveal that motivational incentives improve cognitive task performance in both older and younger adults, providing novel evidence demonstrating that age-related cognitive control deficits can be ameliorated with sufficient incentive motivation. Additional analyses revealed clear age-related differences in motivational integration. Younger adult task performance was modulated by both monetary and liquid incentives, whereas monetary reward effects were more gradual in older adults and more strongly impacted by trial-by-trial performance feedback. A surprising discovery was that older adults shifted attention from liquid valence toward monetary reward throughout task performance, but younger adults shifted attention from monetary reward toward integrating both monetary reward and liquid valence by the end of the task, suggesting differential strategic utilization of incentives. Together these data suggest that older adults may have impairments in incentive integration, and employ different motivational strategies to improve cognitive task performance. The findings suggest potential candidate neural mechanisms that may serve as the locus of age-related change, providing targets for future cognitive neuroscience investigations.


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