scholarly journals EXPRESS: Stimulus novelty, task demands, and strategy use in episodic memory

2020 ◽  
pp. 174702182098030
Author(s):  
Otto Waris ◽  
Daniel Fellman ◽  
Jussi Jylkkä ◽  
Matti Laine
Keyword(s):  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Recall Performance ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Strategy Use ◽  
Skill Learning ◽  
Cognitive Task Performance ◽  
And Task

Cognitive task performance is a dynamic process that evolves over time, starting from the first encounters with a task. An important aspect of these task dynamics is the employment of strategies to support successful performance and task acquisition. Focusing on episodic memory performance, we: (1) tested two hypotheses on the effects of novelty and task difficulty on strategy use; (2) replicated our previous results regarding strategy use in a novel memory task; and (3) evaluated whether repeated open-ended strategy queries affect task performance and/or strategy use. The present pre-registered online study comprised 161 adult participants who were recruited through the Prolific crowdsourcing platform. We employed two separate 5-block list learning tasks, one with 10 pseudowords and the other with 18 common nouns, and collected recall performance and strategy reports for each block. Using Bayesian linear mixed effects models, the present findings (1) provide some support for the hypothesis that task-initial strategy development is not triggered only by task novelty, but can appear also in a familiar, moderately demanding task; (2) replicate earlier findings from an adaptive working memory task indicating strategy use from the beginning of a task, associations between strategy use and objective task performance, and only modest agreement between open-ended vs. list-based strategy reports; and (3) indicate that repeated open-ended strategy reports do not affect objective recall. We conclude that strategy use is an important aspect of memory performance right from the start of a task, and it undergoes development at the initial stages depending on task characteristics. In a larger perspective, the present results concur with the views of skill learning and adaptivity in cognitive task performance.

Task Performance and Electromyopotential as Functions of Task Difficulty and EMG Feedback

1986 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 555-562
Author(s):  
Roy E. Connally ◽  
John N. Dieter ◽  
Kevin Uliano
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Training Session ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Iconic Memory ◽  
Biofeedback Training ◽  
Audio Feedback ◽  
Cognitive Task Performance ◽  
And Task

The dearth of empirical research in the application of biofeedback is discussed. Exp. 1 assessed relationships among biofeedback EMG training, EMG levels, cognitive task performance, and task difficulty. 72 subjects (male or female college students) were administered 1 trial on an iconic memory task with either EMG audio feedback, sham EMG audio feedback, or no feedback. Three levels of task difficulty were used. One 20-min. training session significantly lowered EMG responses, and task performance was inversely related to task difficulty. No relationship between EMG level and task performance was observed. Exp. 2 investigated the effect of increased EMG responses on cognitive task performance for one level of difficulty. One biofeedback training session did not significantly increase frontalis EMG, and there was no relationship between increased EMG and task performance.

scholarly journals Inter-individual predictors of pain inhibition during performance of a competing cognitive task

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Tabry ◽  
T. A. Vogel ◽  
M. Lussier ◽  
P. Brouillard ◽  
J. Buhle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Pain Perception ◽  
Pain Catastrophizing ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Main Function ◽  
Analgesic Effects ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Pain Inhibition ◽  
And Task

AbstractThe main function of pain is to automatically draw attention towards sources of potential injury. However, pain sometimes needs to be inhibited in order to address or pursue more relevant tasks. Elucidating the factors that influence how people manage this relationship between pain and task performance is essential to understanding the disruptive nature of pain and its variability between individuals. Here, 41 healthy adults completed a challenging working memory task (2-back task) while receiving painful thermal stimulations. Examining the trial-by-trial relationship between pain perception and task performance revealed that pain’s disruptive effects on performance were mediated by self-reported pain intensity, and that the analgesic effects of a competing task were influenced by task performance. We found that higher pain catastrophizing, higher trait anxiety, and lower trait mindfulness were associated with larger trade-offs between pain perception and task performance, suggesting that these psychological factors can predict increased fluctuations between disruption by pain and analgesia from a competing task. Altogether these findings provide an important and novel perspective on our understanding of individual differences in the interplay between pain and ongoing task performance.

Preprint - Spontaneous strategy use during a working memory updating task

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Otto Waris ◽  
Jussi Jylkkä ◽  
Daniel Fellman ◽  
Matti Laine
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Cognitive Skill ◽  
Strategy Use ◽  
Skill Learning ◽  
Strategy Development ◽  
Initial Task ◽  
Description Task ◽  
Cognitive Skill Learning

Cognitive skill learning postulates strategy generation and implementation when people learn to perform new tasks. Here we followed self-reported strategy use and objective performance in a working memory (WM) updating task to reveal strategy development that should take place when faced with this novel task. In two pre-registered online experiments with healthy adults, we examined short-term strategy acquisition in a ca 20-30-minute adaptive n-back WM task with 15 task blocks by collecting participants’ strategy reports after each block. Experiment 1 showed that (a) about half of the participants reported using a strategy already during the very first task block, (b) changes in selected strategy were most common during the initial task blocks, and (c) more elaborated strategy descriptions predicted better task performance. Experiment 2 mostly replicated these findings, and it additionally showed that compared to open-ended questions, the use of repeated list-based strategy queries influenced subsequent strategy use and task performance, and also indicated higher rates of strategy implementation and strategy change during the task. Strategy use was also a significant predictor of n-back performance, albeit some of the variance it explained was shared by verbal productivity that was measured with a picture description task. The present results concur with the cognitive skill learning perspective and highlight the dynamics of carrying out a demanding cognitive task.

Emotional Intelligence and Task Performance

2001 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 347-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola S. Schutte ◽  
Edward Schuettpelz ◽  
John M. Malouff
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Cognitive Tasks ◽  
The Third ◽  
Cognitive Task Performance ◽  
And Performance ◽  
University Settings ◽  
And Task

Theory and some empirical research suggest that there is a relationship between emotions and performance on cognitive tasks. The construct of emotional intelligence may provide a vehicle for exploring the connection between emotions and cognitive task performance. The present study tested the hypotheses that: a) individuals with higher emotional intelligence would perform better on cognitive tasks; and b) they would be better able to deal with the frustration or helplessness that may result from encountering very difficult tasks. Participants recruited from community and university settings participated in a study in which their emotional intelligence was assessed and they worked on three sets of anagrams. The first set of anagrams was moderately difficult, the second set was very difficult, and the third set was again moderately difficult. The first hypothesis was supported in that participants higher in emotional intelligence solved more problems on the first set of moderately difficult anagrams. The second hypothesis was supported in that the participants higher in emotional intelligence solved more problems after encountering a very difficult and frustrating set of problems, even when initial performance was held constant. The results suggest that study of the emotional intelligence construct holds promise for better understanding and perhaps in the future enhancing cognitive task performance.

scholarly journals The role of the thalamus and hippocampus in episodic memory performance in patients with multiple sclerosis

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 574-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine A Koenig ◽  
Stephen M Rao ◽  
Mark J Lowe ◽  
Jian Lin ◽  
Ken E Sakaie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Recall Performance ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Memory Function ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Memory Loss ◽  
Lesion Load ◽  
Visual Spatial ◽  
Volumetric Measures

Background: Episodic memory loss is one of the most common cognitive symptoms in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), but the pathophysiology of this symptom remains unclear. Both the hippocampus and thalamus have been implicated in episodic memory and show regional atrophy in patients with MS. Objective: In this work, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a verbal episodic memory task, lesion load, and volumetric measures of the hippocampus and thalamus to assess the relative contributions to verbal and visual–spatial episodic memory. Methods: Functional activation, lesion load, and volumetric measures from 32 patients with MS and 16 healthy controls were used in a predictive analysis of episodic memory function. Results: After adjusting for disease duration, immediate recall performance on a visual–spatial episodic memory task was significantly predicted by hippocampal volume ( p < 0.003). Delayed recall on the same task was significantly predicted by volume of the left thalamus ( p < 0.003). For both memory measures, functional activation of the thalamus during encoding was more predictive than that of volume measures ( p < 0.002). Conclusion: Our results suggest that functional activation may be useful as a predictive measure of episodic memory loss in patients with MS.

You Are Your Words: Linguistic Correlates of Cognitive Task Performance

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura K. Varner ◽  
Scott A. Crossley ◽  
Erica L. Snow ◽  
Danielle S. McNamara
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Cognitive Task Performance

Age-Related Differences in Motivational Integration and Cognitive Control

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie Marianne Yee ◽  
Sarah L Adams ◽  
Asad Beck ◽  
Todd Samuel Braver
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Monetary Reward ◽  
Potential Candidate ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Cognitive Task Performance

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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