Reward history modulates visual attention in an avian model

Animal Cognition - Attention can be biased towards previously reward-associated stimuli even when they are task-irrelevant and physically non-salient, although studies of reward-modulated attention...     

Response inhibition and adaptations to response conflict in 6- to 8-year-old children: Evidence from the Simon effect

Several studies have shown that the Simon effect, which is the advantage of spatial correspondence between stimulus and response locations when the stimulus location is task-irrelevant, decreases with increasing response times and is affected by preceding-trial correspondence. These modulations suggest the existence of control mechanisms that adapt our behavior to current goals by responding to the conflict experienced within a trial and by preventing the recurrence of a conflict in the subsequent trial. The aim of the present study was to assess whether these control mechanisms, which are well consolidated in adults and in children older than 8 years of age, are present in children between 6 and 8 years old. To this end, we tested 32 first-grade (6–7 years) and 34 second-grade (7–8 years) children on a Simon task in which correspondence sequence was manipulated on a trial-by-trial basis. The Simon effect was larger for first- than for second-graders and decreased with increasing response times only in second-graders. Crucially, for both groups, the effect was reduced when the preceding trial was noncorresponding, and the reductions were comparable for the two groups, indicating that trial-by-trial control mechanisms are already present in first-grade children and may be dissociated from within-trial control adjustments.     

Preparation time modulates pro-active control and enhances task conflict in task switching

Performance in the Stroop task reflects two conflicts—informational (between the incongruent word and ink color) and task (between relevant color naming and irrelevant word reading). Neuroimaging findings support the existence of task conflict in congruent trials. A behavioral indication for task conflict—Stroop reverse facilitation—was found in previous studies under low task-control conditions. Task switching also causes reduction in task control because the task set frequently changes. We hypothesized that it would be harder to efficiently manage task conflicts in switching situations and, specifically, as cue–target interval (CTI) decreases. This suggestion was examined in two experiments using a combined Stroop task-switching design. We found a large interference effect and reverse facilitation that decreased with elongation of CTI. Results imply that task switching reduces pro-active task control and thereby enhances the informational and the task conflicts. This calls for a revision of recent control models to include task conflict.     

Hypnotic suggestion modulates cognitive conflict: the case of the flanker compatibility effect

The present work was aimed at investigating whether the flanker compatibility effect can be eliminated by means of a posthypnotic suggestion influencing attentional focusing. In Experiment 1, participants who scored high and low on hypnotic susceptibility performed the flanker compatibility task when naturally awake and when under a posthypnotic suggestion aimed at increasing the target's discriminability from the flankers. Results showed that the posthypnotic suggestion effectively eliminated the flanker compatibility effect in highly susceptible participants, whereas low-susceptibility participants did not show any reduction in the effect. In Experiment 2, highly susceptible participants performed the task after receiving a suggestion but without the induction of hypnosis. Results showed that the suggestion alone was not sufficient to reduce the flanker compatibility effect. These results support the view that in highly susceptible participants, hypnotic suggestion can influence the ability to focus on relevant information.     

How socioemotional setting modulates late-stage conflict resolution processes in the lateral prefrontal cortex

The goal-directed control of behaviour critically depends on emotional regulation and constitutes the basis of mental well-being and social interactions. Within a socioemotional setting, it is necessary to prioritize effectively the relevant emotional information over interfering irrelevant emotional information to orchestrate cognitive resources and achieve appropriate behavior. Currently, it is elusive whether and how different socioemotional stimulus dimensions modulate cognitive control and conflict resolution. Theoretical considerations suggest that interference effects are less detrimental when conflicting emotional information is presented within a “positive socioemotional setting” compared with a “negative socioemotional setting.” Using event-related potentials (ERPs) and source localization methods, we examined the basic system neurophysiological mechanisms and functional neuroanatomical structures associated with interactive effects of different interfering facial, socioemotional stimulus dimensions on conflict resolution. We account for interactive effects of different interfering socioemotional stimulus dimensions on conflict resolution, i.e., we show how the socioemotional valence modulates cognitive control (conflict processing). The data show that conflicts are stronger and more difficult to resolve in a negative emotional task-relevant setting than in a positive emotional task-relevant setting, where incongruent information barely induced conflicts. The degree of emotional conflict critically depends on the contextual emotional valence (positive or negative) in which this conflict occurs. The neurophysiological data show that these modulations were only reflected by late-stage conflict resolution processes associated with the middle (MFG) and superior frontal gyrus (SFG). Attentional selection processes and early-stage conflict monitoring do not seem to be modulated by interactive effects of different interfering socioemotional stimulus dimensions on conflict resolution.     

Erratum to: Sensory Nature of Reward

Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science -     

物质奖励对内在动机的侵蚀效应

物质奖励制度在现实生活中无处不在, 但物质奖励能够激发人们的工作热情吗？依据认知评价理论, 奖励具有信息和控制两种因素, 前者有助于内在动机的维持, 后者则会损害内在动机, 即有侵蚀效应。这种侵蚀效应已经为众多研究所证明。对此效应的深入研究发现, 在不同情形下, 侵蚀效应的大小受到奖励条件设置、竞争情形、个体的归因倾向、反馈信息、自主选择空间等因素的影响。近年来神经学研究则进一步观察到侵蚀效应的神经表征与机制。     

Reward vs. Reciprocity as Related to Attraction1

Groups of six subjects participated in a study to investigate the effect of obligation upon attraction. Each subject received offers of monetary aid from other members of the group. Amount of aid offered was varied along with the obligation attached to the aid. The effect of the offer upon the recipient's attraction to the donor was assessed. Both attraction and desire for coalition were greatest when the offer of aid was high and the obligation to return the benefits received was low.     

a consensus method to reduce conflict

The authors describe a five-step model of conflict reduction suitable for use by practicing counselors. They present the model in how-to-do-it fashion, supplementing it with illustrations. They describe the reactions of eight counselors who used the model in 37 conflict cases and present the responses of the persons involved in the conflicts.     

Reward and Punishment Sensitivity in Children with ADHD: Validating the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire for Children (SPSRQ-C)

This study validates the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire for children (SPSRQ-C), using a Dutch sample of 1234 children between 6–13 years old. Factor analysis determined that a 4-factor and a 5-factor solution were best fitting, explaining 41% and 50% of the variance respectively. The 4-factor model was highly similar to the original SPSRQ factors found in adults (Punishment Sensitivity, Reward Responsivity, Impulsivity/Fun-Seeking, and Drive). The 5-factor model was similar to the 4-factor model, with the exception of a subdivision of the Punishment Sensitivity factor into a factor with ‘social-fear’ items and a factor with ‘anxiety’ items. To determine external validity, scores of three groups of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were compared on the EFA models: ADHD-only (n = 34), ADHD and autism spectrum disorder (ADHD+ASD; n = 22), ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder (ADHD+ODD; n = 22). All ADHD groups scored higher than typical controls on Reward Responsivity and on the ‘anxiety’ factor (n = 75). The ADHD-only and ADHD+ODD group scored higher than other groups on Impulsivity/Fun-Seeking and Drive, while the ADHD+ASD group scored higher on Punishment Sensitivity. The findings emphasize the value of the SPSRQ-C to quickly and reliably assess a child’s sensitivity to reinforcement, with the aim to provide individually-tailored behavioral interventions that utilize reward and reprimands.     

An experimental simulation of adaptations to increased car-use costs

A paper-and-pencil experimental simulation was devised to examine car users’ adaptation to increased travel costs. In Study 1 travel related to different types of daily agendas was compared for two groups of undergraduates (n = 24) with different costs for car use. When car-use costs increased, a tradeoff between minimizing travel costs and travel time was observed for both more and less habitual car users. Car-use reduction was still less among the former than among the latter. Study 2 employed four groups of undergraduates (n = 48) to examine effects of learning when the costs for car use changed from low to high, from high to low, or remained unchanged. Small learning effects were observed when there was no change in costs. When the costs changed, asymmetrical carryover effects indicated a higher responsiveness to changes from low to high costs than the reverse.     

Generic cognitive adaptations to task interference in task switching

The present study investigated how the activation of previous tasks interferes with the execution of future tasks as a result of temporal manipulations. Color and shape matching tasks were organized in runs of two trials each. The tasks were specified by a cue presented before a task run, cueing only the first trials of each run. Response times (RTs) and error rates were measured for task switching and task repetition conditions. Task interference was varied as a function of response-cue interval (RCI of 300 and 900 ms), that is, the interval between the task runs. Keeping the response-stimulus interval within the task runs constant at 300 ms allowed the disentangling of the direct effects of RCI manipulation on performance (first trials) from the general effects on performance (both trials in the run). The data showed similar performance improvement due to RCI increase on both trials in the task run. Furthermore, increasing RCI improved both switch and repetition performance to a similar extent. Together, our findings provide further evidence for accounts stressing generic effects of proactive task interference in task switching.     

Helping women to resolve the home-career conflict

Counselors can no longer dodge the special demands of vocational decision-making with women by saying either “Sooner or later she will settle down and get married” or “A woman can do anything a man can do.” Counselors and educators can help to clarify the factors involved in the vocational choice process with high school and college girls, particularly where these factors differ from those affecting men. There is no need to wait for a woman to seek counseling in order to expose her to these factors; such clarification should be built into high school and college guidance programs for girls. Society will gain if women choose careers at a level commensurate with their potential.     

Human sexual conflict from molecules to culture

Coevolutionary arms races between males and females have equipped both sexes with mutually manipulative and defensive adaptations. These adaptations function to benefit individual reproductive interests at the cost of the reproductive interests of opposite- sex mates, and arise from evolutionary dynamics such as parental investment (unequal reproductive costs between the sexes) and sexual selection (unequal access to opposite-sex mates). Individuals use these adaptations to hijack others' reproductive systems, psychological states, and behaviors-essentially using other individuals as extended phenotypes of themselves. Such extended phenotypic manipulation of sexual rivals and opposite-sex mates is enacted by humans with the aid of hormones, pheromones, neurotransmitters, emotions, language, mind-altering substances, social institutions, technologies, and ideologies. Furthermore, sexual conflict may be experienced at an individual level when maternal genes and paternal genes are in conflict within an organism. Sexual conflict may be physically and emotionally destructive, but may also be exciting and constructive for relationships. By extending the biological concept of sexual conflict into social and cultural domains, scholars may successfully bridge many of the interdisciplinary gaps that separate the sciences from the humanities.