Submission Type
Event
Faculty Advisor
Jason Themanson
Expected Graduation Date
2018
Location
Center for Natural Sciences, Illinois Wesleyan University
Start Date
4-21-2018 2:00 PM
End Date
4-21-2018 3:00 PM
Disciplines
Education
Abstract
In speeded response tasks, the time between external stimuli and the time to react is both minimal and relatively fixed. In accordance with speed-accuracy tradeoff (SAT) theories, reaction time (RT) is often slower after error in order to improve accuracy, which produces post-error slowing. However, in speeded response tasks, typical post-error slowing patterns may not occur. We examined two neural indices of self-regulatory cognitive control, the feedback-related negativity (FRN) and the P300, to identify whether time constraints disrupted the normal processing of performance errors and the refinement of behavior during task execution through cognitive control processes in accord with one’s intended goals and whether this disruption may differ based on individuals’ levels of expertise in the task. Participants (n=59) were divided into two categories based on skill acquisition: experts or novices. Each participant completed a video speeded response task assessing neural activity during a series of thrown pitches were either balls or strikes. Each pitch was followed by feedback on the accuracy of the participant’s choice. Results indicated a larger P300 following correct feedback for experts’ neural activity. This evidence suggests that experts contain a greater degree of attentional allocation towards correct feedback from the speeded response task, possibly to learn a more accurate working representation of the strike zone. Further, results indicated that the FRN was larger after incorrect feedback for experts suggesting their low expectancy towards an error. These results demonstrate the nature of neural activity during a speeded response task, and responses to feedback, can influence overall performance and post-error performance. Implications and uses for this research include the importance of level of expertise in related tasks and a greater understanding of individual self-regulatory cognitive control for maximum overall performance.
Included in
Error Processing in Speeded Response Tasks: Expertise Differences in Cognitive Control
Center for Natural Sciences, Illinois Wesleyan University
In speeded response tasks, the time between external stimuli and the time to react is both minimal and relatively fixed. In accordance with speed-accuracy tradeoff (SAT) theories, reaction time (RT) is often slower after error in order to improve accuracy, which produces post-error slowing. However, in speeded response tasks, typical post-error slowing patterns may not occur. We examined two neural indices of self-regulatory cognitive control, the feedback-related negativity (FRN) and the P300, to identify whether time constraints disrupted the normal processing of performance errors and the refinement of behavior during task execution through cognitive control processes in accord with one’s intended goals and whether this disruption may differ based on individuals’ levels of expertise in the task. Participants (n=59) were divided into two categories based on skill acquisition: experts or novices. Each participant completed a video speeded response task assessing neural activity during a series of thrown pitches were either balls or strikes. Each pitch was followed by feedback on the accuracy of the participant’s choice. Results indicated a larger P300 following correct feedback for experts’ neural activity. This evidence suggests that experts contain a greater degree of attentional allocation towards correct feedback from the speeded response task, possibly to learn a more accurate working representation of the strike zone. Further, results indicated that the FRN was larger after incorrect feedback for experts suggesting their low expectancy towards an error. These results demonstrate the nature of neural activity during a speeded response task, and responses to feedback, can influence overall performance and post-error performance. Implications and uses for this research include the importance of level of expertise in related tasks and a greater understanding of individual self-regulatory cognitive control for maximum overall performance.