Performance monitoring and the causal attribution of errors

The present study investigated the role of causal attribution for performance monitoring in the medial frontal cortex. To this end, we compared internally and externally-caused errors in a selective attention task with respect to error-related EEG activity and error-induced adjustments of speed and attentional selectivity. Both error types evoked early negativities and later positivities in the response-locked event-related potential. However, whereas internally-caused errors caused posterror slowing, externally-caused errors were followed by reduced attentional selectivity. Moreover, the amount of reduced attentional selectivity was related to the amplitude of the early negativity on externally-caused errors. This suggests that posterror adjustments are initiated on the basis of perceived causality and, thus, causal attribution of errors.     

Response-repetition effects in task switching - dissociating effects of anatomical and spatial response discriminability

In task switching, response repetitions typically lead to performance benefits for task repetitions but costs for task switches. We examined whether this cost–benefit pattern is affected by response discriminability (RD), varying (a) the anatomical response separation (within-hand vs. between-hand responses) and (b) the spatial separation (close vs. far response keys). We assumed that anatomical RD increases response competition generally, whereas spatial RD increases the salience of left–right coding and thus facilitates response selection. In two experiments, we found that spatial RD increased the response-repetition costs in task switches but similarly decreased the response-repetition benefit in task repetitions. The effect of spatial RD was response-specific but did not interact with task switching. This data pattern is consistent with a recent account that proposed that facilitated response selection increases response “self-inhibition” after response execution. In contrast, the influence of anatomical RD primarily consisted of an overall increase of reaction-time level in all conditions, whereas error rates decreased, suggesting a general shift in response criterion. Taken together, the data suggest that a self-inhibition mechanism on the level of motor response codes contributes to response-repetition effects in task switching, which is possibly independent of task-specific mechanisms of strengthening of associations.     

Stress regulation and cognitive control: evidence relating cortisol reactivity and neural responses to errors

In this study, we tested the relationship between error-related signals of cognitive control and cortisol reactivity, investigating the hypothesis of common systems for cognitive and emotional self-regulation. Eighty-three participants completed a Stroop task while electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. Three error-related indices were derived from the EEG: the error-related negativity (ERN), error positivity (Pe), and error-related alpha suppression (ERAS). Pre- and posttask salivary samples were assayed for cortisol, and cortisol change scores were correlated with the EEG variables. Better error–correct differentiation in the ERN predicted less cortisol increase during the task, whereas greater ERAS predicted greater cortisol increase during the task; the Pe was not correlated with cortisol changes. We concluded that an enhanced ERN, part of an adaptive cognitive control system, predicts successful stress regulation. In contrast, an enhanced ERAS response may reflect error-related arousal that is not adaptive. The results support the concept of overlapping systems for cognitive and emotional self-regulation.     

Don't Fuss,Focus: The Mediating Effect of On‐Task Thoughts on the Relationship between Error Approach Instructions and Task Performance

People working on a task can make errors along the way. How people deal with an error, however, depends on the type of error approach they apply. One approach, error management, focuses on increasing the positive and decreasing the negative consequences of errors. A second approach, error prevention, focuses on working faultlessly. In two experiments, we manipulated error approach through task instructions and measured on‐task thoughts and off‐task thoughts. In Experiment 1 (N = 78), error management resulted in more on‐task thoughts, but no differences were found for off‐task thoughts. Experiment 2 (N = 76) replicated the findings of Experiment 1, and further demonstrated that error management resulted in better analogical and adaptive transfer performance, and that these effects were mediated by on‐task thoughts. Our findings point toward the benefits of error management instructions for people and organisations. Specifically, error management instructions make people more focused on the task during practice, as indicated by on‐task thoughts, which in turn results in higher performance after practice.     

Synchronization in repetitive smooth movement requires perceptible events

Accurate timing performance during auditory–motor synchronization has been well documented for finger tapping tasks. It is believed that information pertaining to an event in movement production aids in detecting and correcting for errors between movement cycle completion and the metronome tone. Tasks with minimal event-related information exhibit more variable synchronization and less rapid error correction. Recent work from our laboratory has indicated that a task purportedly lacking an event structure (circle drawing) did not exhibit accurate synchronization or error correction (Studenka & Zelaznik, in press). In the present paper we report on two experiments examining synchronization in tapping and circle drawing tasks. In Experiment 1, error correction processes of an event-timed tapping timing task and an emergently timed circle drawing timing task were examined. Rapid and complete error correction was seen for the tapping, but not for the circle drawing task. In Experiment 2, a perceptual event was added to delineate a cycle in circle drawing, and the perceptual event of table contact was removed from the tapping task. The inclusion of an event produced a marked improvement in synchronization error correction for circle drawing, and the removal of tactile feedback (taking away an event) slightly reduced the error correction response of tapping. Furthermore, the task kinematics of circle drawing remained smooth providing evidence that event structure can be kinematic or perceptual in nature. Thus, synchronization and error correction, characteristic of event timing (Ivry, Spencer, Zelaznik, & Diedrichsen, 2002; Repp, 2005), depends upon the presence of a distinguishable source of sensory information at the timing goal.     

Response-based strengthening in task shifting: evidence from shift effects produced by errors

The hypothesis is introduced that 1 source of shift costs is the strengthening of task-related associations occurring whenever an overt response is produced. The authors tested this account by examining shift effects following errors and error compensation processes. The authors predicted that following a specific type of error, called task confusion, shift benefits instead of shift costs should result. A series of 3 experiments confirmed this prediction showing that task confusions produce shift benefits in subsequent trials (Experiment 1), even when the error is detected (Experiment 2). Moreover, only posterror processes that imply an error correction response produce shift costs (Experiment 3). These results additionally suggest that error detection cannot prevent errors from affecting subsequent performance.     

Status reporting of "eyes on" and peripheral displays during tracking

In response to external requests, pilots often orally report status information read from scattered visual displays while simultaneously controlling an aircraft. For an experimentally controlled "status-reporting" task, we found that the input frequency on a concurrent-tracking task and the task stream-related factors of the rate, uncertainty, and timing of requests showed few significant effects on mean performance times and standard deviations. Tracking performance did vary greatly between the different phases of the "status-reporting" task, the different types of displays and their locations, and the different tracking-input frequencies. An elementary manual control model produced conformal tracking error means and standard deviations when parameters corresponding to behavioral changes were varied. These results indicated that both the performance time statistics of the "status-reporting" task and the influence of concurrent performance on tracking error can be estimated using simple methods.     

Know thy agency in predictive coding: Meta-monitoring over forward modeling

Though the computation of agency is thought to be based on prediction error, it is important for us to grasp our own reliability of that detected error. Here, the current study shows that we have a meta-monitoring ability over our own forward model, where the accuracy of motor prediction and therefore of the felt agency are implicitly evaluated. Healthy participants (N = 105) conducted a simple motor control task and SELF or OTHER visual feedback was given. The relationship between the accuracy and confidence in a mismatch detection task and in a self-other attribution task was examined. The results suggest an accuracy-confidence correlation in both tasks, indicating our meta-monitoring ability over such decisions. Furthermore, a statistically identified group with low accuracy and low confidence was characterized as higher schizotypal people. Finally, what we can know about our own forward model and how we can know it is discussed.     

Advance task preparation reduces task error rate in the cuing task-switching paradigm

Advance preparation reduces RT task-switching cost, which is thought to be evidence of preparatory control in the cuing task-switching paradigm. In the present study, we emphasize errors in relation to response speed. In two experiments, we show that (1) task switching increased the rate at which the currently irrelevant task was erroneously executed ("task errors") and (2) advance task preparation reduced the task error rate to that seen in nonswitch trials. The implications of the results to the hypothesis concerning task-specific preparation are discussed.     

Common mechanisms in error monitoring and action effect monitoring

In the present study, we considered error-related brain activity in event-related potentials, to investigate the relationship between error monitoring—that is, the detection and evaluation of erroneous responses—and action effect monitoring—that is, monitoring of the sensory consequences of behavior. To this end, participants worked on a task-switching paradigm that consisted of a free-choice task, in which a puzzle piece had to be attached to an existing one (the prime task), and a subsequent color flanker task (the probe task). We examined whether unexpected action effects in the prime task would affect the subsequent error monitoring in the probe task. We found the neural correlates of error monitoring during the probe task, the error-related negativity as well as the error positivity, to be increased after unexpected action effects in the prime task. In contrast, the neural correlates of visual attention were decreased after unexpected action effects, in line with recent findings on an attenuation of sensory processing after errors. Our results demonstrate a direct link between monitoring processes in the two tasks. We propose that both error monitoring and action effect monitoring rely on a common generic monitoring system related to novelty detection or affective processing. Preactivating this system by means of unexpected action effects increases the sensitivity for detecting an error in the subsequent task.     

Conscious error perception: The impact of response interference from a secondary task

An erroneous response is not always accompanied by the conscious perception of the error being made. We examined whether increased response interference on a manual task improved the conscious perception of erroneous eye movements on a concurrent oculomotor task. In the first experiment, we examined whether a correlate of response interference, increased task difficulty alone, could improve perception of errors. We found no effect of task difficulty on self-monitoring. Results from a second experiment suggested that participants’ ability to monitor their eye movements improved with increased response interference, but post hoc analyses indicated that this was due to a decrease in corrective behaviors. Experiment 3 required participants to report directly on whether they had made an eye movement error, and we found that response interference perturbed, rather than improved, participants’ ability to report on their errors. Together, these findings contribute to models of error monitoring, revealing little support for the view that general increases in response interference or task difficulty are signals that contribute to the conscious detection of errors.     

未意识到错误影响错误后调整的电生理证据

现有研究一致认为意识到错误可引起错误后调整, 但是未意识到错误能否促使个体进行错误后调整尚存争议。本实验采用基于go/no-go范式的错误意识任务考察上述问题, 并根据被试对自己按键反应正误主观报告将no-go错误反应分为意识到错误和未意识到错误。行为结果发现, 意识到错误和未意识到错误后正确率均显著高于正确击中试次(正确go试次)后正确率; 但是, 意识到错误后试次反应时显著快于正确击中后反应时, 未意识到错误后反应时显著慢于正确击中后反应时。该结果表明两类错误均优化了错误后行为表现, 但是意识到错误后被试调整速度加快, 未意识到错误后被试调整速度减慢。进而, 时频分析发现意识到错误相较于未意识到错误诱发显著更强的alpha波能量。并且, 前者在错误意识主观报告前已诱发alpha波, 后者在错误意识主观报告反应后诱发alpha波。该结果表明意识到错误一直处于持续的注意监控中, 而未意识到错误是任务引起的暂时注意控制。因此, 本实验说明错误意识影响错误后调整, 意识到错误可能采用类似主动性控制的策略调节错误后行为, 而未意识到错误可能采用类似反应性控制的策略调节错误后行为。     

Error probabilities for inference of causal directions

A main message from the causal modelling literature in the last several decades is that under some plausible assumptions, there can be statistically consistent procedures for inferring (features of) the causal structure of a set of random variables from observational data. But whether we can control the error probabilities with a finite sample size depends on the kind of consistency the procedures can achieve. It has been shown that in general, under the standard causal Markov and Faithfulness assumptions, the procedures can only be pointwise but not uniformly consistent without substantial background knowledge. This implies the impossibility of choosing a finite sample size to control the worst case error probabilities. In this paper, I consider the simpler task of inferring causal directions when the skeleton of the causal structure is known, and establish a similarly negative result concerning the possibility of controlling error probabilities. Although the result is negative in form, it has an interesting positive implication for causal discovery methods.     

Memory trace strength and response biasing in short-term motor memory

Two experiments, which attempted to create differential memory trace strengths in a response biasing paradigm, were performed. After the presentation of the criterion location, an interpolated target was presented which was either ±40 deg from the criterion. The S’s task was to attend to both targets and recall each when instructed. The first experiment involved strengthening the criterion trace via repetition (0, 5, or 14 rep.) while the second involved providing additional feedback via visual, auditory, and heightened kinesthetic cues. In the initial experiment, a Repetition by Response Biasing interaction revealed that repetition systematically reduced error shifts at recall. The second experiment found that, in the combined feedback and visual conditions, response biasing was reduced. It seems feasible to suggest that both studies successfully manipulated memory trace strength which appears to be one determiner of error shifts at recall.     

No ego-depletion effect without a good control task

The ego-depletion effect refers to a temporary failure of self-control exertion after first performing an effortful task. This phenomenon has experienced a replication crisis in the past few years. In the present series of experiments, we tried to replicate the ego-depletion effect using a 30-min modified Stroop task tapping two executive functions (inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility) as the depleting task. In the first study, we compared the performance of a handgrip endurance task after this depleting task or after a classic control task (i.e., reading color words) and failed to replicate the ego-depletion effect. We showed that the control task induced boredom and subjective fatigue. In a second study, we looked for a better control task and compared the color-word reading task to another possible control task used in the literature (i.e., watching a documentary). Controlling for boredom, subjective fatigue, motivation and affective state, we found that the video task was not boring and did not induce fatigue, drop in motivation or negative affective state, whereas the color-word reading task did. In a third study, we used the video task as the control task and the modified effortful Stroop task used in the first study as the depleting task and succeeded in replicating the ego-depletion effect. This series of experiments illustrates that the choice of an appropriate control task is crucial to observe an ego-depletion effect and that boredom is costly. Consequently, it appears necessary to control for boredom in any future replication study aiming to observe an ego-depletion effect.     

Now you see me,now you don’t: Adapting practice through target exclusion negatively impacts motor learning

How to optimize practice through scheduling of different task components or skills is a question that has received a lot of attention in motor learning research. Consistently, schedules with high variability in the order that skills are practiced elicit better learning outcomes than schedules with low variability. Another idea is that learners should seek to reduce the uncertainty of practice outcomes, by avoiding well-learned, low error components in acquisition. To test this idea, we used a target exclusion method to prevent learners from returning to task components with low error and studied how individuals given choice over practice choose to allocate time to components of varying difficulty. In a multi-target adaptation paradigm, we compared exclusion with no exclusion methods in random-schedule, self-control and yoked, matched-schedule groups (6 groups total). To manipulate uncertainty, we excluded targets from practice once participants attained a criterion error score (mean < 5^o) from the last 5 trials to the same target. Contrary to our predictions, groups that practiced without target exclusion were more accurate in retention compared to exclusion groups; irrespective of practice schedule. Self-control groups adopted uncertainty-based practice, spending more time at difficult targets and less time at easier targets. However, there were no group differences in error, based on schedule-type (random, self-control and yoked). In conclusion, target exclusion was not an effective method for learning and did not support the efficacy of uncertainty-based practice for learning novel skills. There were benefits from keeping easier/low error skills in practice for later retention. These benefits did not appear to be related to the increased switching between skills, but could be related to increased task engagement and more optimal challenge associated with practice on a range of target difficulties, rather than the most difficult.     

A methodological note on evaluating performance in a sustained-attention-to-response task

We evaluated the influence of speed–accuracy trade-offs on performance in the sustained attention to response task (SART), a task often used to evaluate the effectiveness of techniques designed to improve sustained attention. In the present study, we experimentally manipulated response delay in a variation of the SART and found that commission errors, which are commonly used as an index of lapses in sustained attention, were a systematic function of manipulated differences in response delay. Delaying responses to roughly 800 ms after stimulus onset reduced commission errors substantially. We suggest the possibility that any technique that affects response speed will indirectly alter error rates independently of improvements in sustained attention. Investigators therefore need to carefully explore, report, and correct for changes in response speed that accompany improvements in performance or, alternatively, to employ tasks that control for response speed.     

Development of rule-based eye-hand-decoupling in children and adolescents

In the present study, we characterize how the ability to decouple guiding visual information from a motor action emerges during childhood and adolescence. Sixty-two participants (age range 8–15 yrs.) completed two eye-hand coordination tasks. In a direct interaction task, vision and motor action were in alignment, and participants slid their finger along a vertical touch screen to move a cursor from a central target to one of four peripheral targets. In an eye-hand-decoupled task, eye and hand movements were made in different planes and cursor feedback was 180° reversed. We analyzed whether movement planning, timing and trajectory variables differed across age in both task conditions. There were no significant relationships between age and any movement planning, timing, or execution variables in the direct interaction task. In contrast, in the eye-hand-decoupled task, we found a relationship between age and several movement planning and timing variables. In adolescents (13–15 yrs.), movement planning and timing was significantly shorter than that of young children (8–10 yrs.). Eye-hand-decoupled maturation emerged mainly during late childhood (11–12 yrs.). Notably, we detected performance differences between young children and adolescents exclusively during the eye-hand decoupling task which required the integration of rule-based cognitive information into the motor action. Differences were not observed during the direct interaction task. Our results quantify an important milestone for eye-hand-decoupling development in late childhood, leading to improved rule-based motor performance in early adolescence. This eye-hand-decoupling development may be due to frontal lobe development linked to rule-based behavior and the strengthening of fronto-parietal networks.     

Perceptual influences of error size on voluntary force control during a compound sinusoidal force task

Visual feedback that provides error information is critical to task quality and motor adjustments. This study investigated how the size of perceived errors via visual feedback affected rate control and force gradation strategy of a designate force task. Fourteen young adults coupled force exertions to a compound sinusoidal signal (0.2 Hz and 0.5 Hz) that fluctuated around a mean level of 30% of maximal voluntary contraction, when the size of execution errors were differently scaled with the error amplification factors. In the low (LAF) and high (HAF) amplification factor conditions, the execution errors in the visual display half and double of the real errors, respectively. The visualized error was the real errors in the medium amplification factor (MAF) condition. In addition to a phase-lead of force output, the LAF condition that virtually reduced the size of error feedback associated with a poorer task accuracy than the MAF and HAF conditions. Virtual increase in error size of visual feedback selectively suppressed the fast target force at 0.5 Hz. In addition, complexity and high-frequency components (>0.75 Hz) of force outputs multiplied progressively with increasing error size. Error-enhancing feedback suppressed fast target force, accentuating the use of error information to tune force output, whereas error-reducing feedback enhanced fast target force in favor of predictive force control.     

Preparing or executing the wrong task: The influence on switch effects

In a previous study, it was proposed that executing a task leads to task strengthening. In other words, task activation at the moment of response execution determines subsequent switch effects (Steinhauser & Hübner, 2006). The authors investigated this issue by comparing switch effects after task and response errors. However, the use of bivalent stimulus–response mappings might have obscured some of the effects. Therefore, we replicated the experiment using univalent stimulus–response mappings. With this adjusted design, which overcomes some shortcomings of the original study, we were able to replicate the finding of switch benefits after task errors. Closer inspection of the data showed the importance of preexecution processes on subsequent switch effects. In a second experiment, we further elaborated on these preexecution processes. More precisely, we investigated the effect of task preparation on subsequent switch effects. Taken together, our data extend current accounts of task switching by showing that the preparatory processes occurring before the response on trial n influence the switch cost on trial n?+?1.