scholarly journals Experiential and Strategic Emotional Intelligence Are Implicated When Inhibiting Affective and Non-Affective Distractors: Findings from Three Emotional Flanker N-Back Tasks

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Ming D. Lim ◽  
Damian P. Birney
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Low Load ◽  
Affective Information ◽  
Accuracy Rates

Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to a set of competencies to process, understand, and reason with affective information. Recent studies suggest ability measures of experiential and strategic EI differentially predict performance on non-emotional and emotionally laden tasks. To explore cognitive processes underlying these abilities further, we varied the affective context of a traditional letter-based n-back working-memory task. In study 1, participants completed 0-, 2-, and 3-back tasks with flanking distractors that were either emotional (fearful or happy faces) or non-emotional (shapes or letters stimuli). Strategic EI, but not experiential EI, significantly influenced participants’ accuracy across all n-back levels, irrespective of flanker type. In Study 2, participants completed 1-, 2-, and 3-back levels. Experiential EI was positively associated with response times for emotional flankers at the 1-back level but not other levels or flanker types, suggesting those higher in experiential EI reacted slower on low-load trials with affective context. In Study 3, flankers were asynchronously presented either 300 ms or 1000 ms before probes. Results mirrored Study 1 for accuracy rates and Study 2 for response times. Our findings (a) provide experimental evidence for the distinctness of experiential and strategic EI and (b) suggest that each are related to different aspects of cognitive processes underlying working memory.

scholarly journals Brain hemodynamic response in Examiner–Examinee dyads during spatial short-term memory task: an fNIRS study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Panico ◽  
Stefania De Marco ◽  
Laura Sagliano ◽  
Francesca D’Olimpio ◽  
Dario Grossi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
The Real

AbstractThe Corsi Block-Tapping test (CBT) is a measure of spatial working memory (WM) in clinical practice, requiring an examinee to reproduce sequences of cubes tapped by an examiner. CBT implies complementary behaviors in the examiners and the examinees, as they have to attend a precise turn taking. Previous studies demonstrated that the Prefrontal Cortex (PFC) is activated during CBT, but scarce evidence is available on the neural correlates of CBT in the real setting. We assessed PFC activity in dyads of examiner–examinee participants while completing the real version of CBT, during conditions of increasing and exceeding workload. This procedure allowed to investigate whether brain activity in the dyads is coordinated. Results in the examinees showed that PFC activity was higher when the workload approached or reached participants’ spatial WM span, and lower during workload conditions that were largely below or above their span. Interestingly, findings in the examiners paralleled the ones in the examinees, as examiners’ brain activity increased and decreased in a similar way as the examinees’ one. In the examiners, higher left-hemisphere activity was observed suggesting the likely activation of non-spatial WM processes. Data support a bell-shaped relationship between cognitive load and brain activity, and provide original insights on the cognitive processes activated in the examiner during CBT.

scholarly journals Does working memory protect against auditory distraction in older adults?

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yatin Mahajan ◽  
Jeesun Kim ◽  
Chris Davis
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Correct Response ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Visual Task ◽  
Oddball Paradigm ◽  
Younger Adults

Abstract Background Past research indicates that when younger adults are engaged in a visual working memory task, they are less distracted by novel auditory stimuli than when engaged in a visual task that does not require working memory. The current study aimed to determine whether working memory affords the same protection to older adults. Method We examined behavioral and EEG responses in 16 younger and 16 older adults to distractor sounds when the listeners performed two visual tasks; one that required working memory (W1) and the other that did not (W0). Auditory distractors were presented in an oddball paradigm, participants were exposed to either standard tones (600 Hz: 80%) or various novel environmental sounds (20%). Results It was found that: 1) when presented with novel vs standard sounds, older adults had faster correct response times in the W1 visual task than in the W0 task, indicating that they were less distracted by the novel sound; there was no difference in error rates. Younger adults did not show a task effect for correct response times but made slightly more errors when a novel sound was presented in the W1 task compared to the W0 task. 2) In older adults (but not the younger adults), the amplitude of N1 was smaller in the W1 condition compared to the W0 condition. 3) The working memory manipulation had no effect on MMN amplitude in older adults. 4) For the W1 compared to W0 task, the amplitude of P3a was attenuated for the older adults but not for the younger adults. Conclusions These results suggest that during the working memory manipulation older adults were able to engage working memory to reduce the processing of task-irrelevant sounds.

scholarly journals Keeping things in mind for future thinking: Arithmetic booster reduces delay discounting

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minho Hwang ◽  
Sung-Phil Kim ◽  
Dongil Chung
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Associative Memory ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Working Memory Training ◽  
Memory Training ◽  
Episodic Future Thinking ◽  
Future Thinking ◽  
Future Event ◽  
Training Performance

AbstractPeople have higher preference for immediate over delayed rewards, and it is suggested that such an impulsive tendency is governed by one’s ability to simulate future rewards. Consistent with this view, recent studies have shown that enforcing individuals to focus on episodic future thoughts reduces their impulsivity. Yet, given its multifaceted cognitive processes involved in future thinking, it is not well understood how episodic future thinking functions as an effective tool for modulating individuals’ preference for immediate (or delayed) rewards. To examine plausible mechanisms that are linked with future thinking, we used one associative memory task and one working memory task that each of which were administered to manipulate acquired amount of information and individuals’ ability to construct a coherent future event, respectively. Comparing with the impacts of three control tasks, we found that individuals’ impulsivity was significantly reduced as an effect of arithmetic working memory task, but not of associative memory task. Moreover, this impulsivity reduction was most pronounced in individuals who showed highest working memory training performance. These data provide a mechanistic account of how episodic future thinking affects individuals’ subjective valuation of delayed rewards.

scholarly journals Maintaining fixation does not increase demands on working memory relative to free viewing

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e6839 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Armson ◽  
Jennifer D. Ryan ◽  
Brian Levine
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Oculomotor System ◽  
Finger Tapping ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Free Viewing

The comparison of memory performance during free and fixed viewing conditions has been used to demonstrate the involvement of eye movements in memory encoding and retrieval, with stronger effects at encoding than retrieval. Relative to conditions of free viewing, participants generally show reduced memory performance following sustained fixation, suggesting that unrestricted eye movements benefit memory. However, the cognitive basis of the memory reduction during fixed viewing is uncertain, with possible mechanisms including disruption of visual-mnemonic and/or imagery processes with sustained fixation, or greater working memory demands required for fixed relative to free viewing. To investigate one possible mechanism for this reduction, we had participants perform a working memory task—an auditory n-back task—during free and fixed viewing, as well as a repetitive finger tapping condition, included to isolate the effects of motor interference independent of the oculomotor system. As expected, finger tapping significantly interfered with n-back performance relative to free viewing, as indexed by a decrease in accuracy and increase in response times. By contrast, there was no evidence that fixed viewing interfered with n-back performance relative to free viewing. Our findings failed to support a hypothesis of increased working memory load during fixation. They are consistent with the notion that fixation disrupts long-term memory performance through interference with visual processes.

Increase of Extracellular Dopamine in Primate Prefrontal Cortex During a Working Memory Task

1997 ◽  
Vol 78 (5) ◽  
pp. 2795-2798 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masataka Watanabe ◽  
Tohru Kodama ◽  
Kazuo Hikosaka
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Dopamine Level ◽  
Control Task ◽  
Extracellular Dopamine ◽  
Delayed Alternation ◽  
Delayed Alternation Task ◽  
Alternation Task

Watanabe, Masataka, Tohru Kodama, and Kazuo Hikosaka. Increase of extracellular dopamine in primate prefrontal cortex during a working memory task. J. Neurophysiol. 78: 2795–2798, 1997. The dopamine innervation of the prefrontal cortex is involved importantly in cognitive processes, such as tested in working memory tasks. However, there have been no studies directly investigating prefrontal dopamine levels in relation to cognitive processes. We measured frontal extracellular dopamine concentration using in vivo microdialysis in monkeys performing in a delayed alternation task as a typical working memory paradigm and in a sensory-guided control task. We observed a significant increase in dopamine level in the delayed alternation task as compared both with the sensory-guided control task and the basal resting level. The increase was seen in the dorsolateral prefrontal but not in the arcuate or orbitofrontal areas. The increase appeared to reflect the working memory component of the task and was observed mainly in the lip areas of principal sulcus. Although there was no significant difference in dopamine level between delayed alternation and sensory-guided control tasks in the premotor area, significant increases in dopamine concentration were observed during both tasks as compared with the basal resting level, indicating the importance of premotor dopamine for the motor response itself.

scholarly journals Working Memory Depletion Affects Intertemporal Choice Among Internet Addicts and Healthy Controls

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongxia Li
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Delay Discounting ◽  
Intertemporal Choice ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Self Report ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Healthy Controls

Addiction to the Internet has emerged as a new kind of addictive behavior. Although previous studies have revealed that impairments in working memory led to suboptimal decision making (e.g., a greater willingness to choose smaller, more immediate rewards), little is known about how working memory affects intertemporal choice in Internet addicts and normal users. Thus, this study’s aim was to investigate the effect of working memory task on intertemporal choice in 33 participants addicted to internet and 25 healthy controls. Participants were administered (a) a test for Internet Addiction, (b) a single delay discounting self-report questionnaire (c) a working memory task. Differences between the Internet addicts and the control group were observed in terms of delay discounting rates, reaction times, and in memory accuracy rates. We observed significantly higher delay discounting rates among individuals addicted to the Internet. Moreover, it was documented that reaction times follow the 4-level working memory condition were significantly longer than follow the 2-level condition, in both the Internet addicts and the control group. The current findings suggest that Internet addicts are more likely to make short-sighted decisions than normal Internet users. The higher the level of working memory, the more likely an individual is to choose the present smaller reward, thus making short-sighted decisions, and have longer response times.

scholarly journals Multiple states in visual working memory: Evidence from oculomotor capture by memory-matching distractors

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie Beck ◽  
Timothy Vickery
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Visual Working Memory ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Continuous Variables ◽  
Oculomotor Capture ◽  
Attentional Guidance ◽  
Low Load ◽  
Target Disk ◽  
Load Conditions

Visual working memory (VWM) representations interact with attentional guidance, but there is controversy over whether multiple VWM items simultaneously influence attentional guidance. Extant studies relied on continuous variables like response times, which can obscure capture – especially if VWM representations cycle through interactive and non-interactive states. We employed an oculomotor paradigm to characterize discrete attentional capture events under both high and low VWM load. Participants held one or two colors in memory, then executed a saccade to a target disk. On some trials, a distractor (sometimes VWM-matching) appeared simultaneous with the target. Eye movements were more frequently directed to a VWM-matching than a non-matching distractor for both load conditions. However, oculomotor capture by a VWM-matching distractor occurred less frequently (by approximately half) under high compared with low load. These results suggest that, without task demands to maintain both, one VWM item is held in an active state at a time.

Short article: The role of working memory in tactile selective attention

2009 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 635-644 ◽  
Author(s):  
Polly Dalton ◽  
Nilli Lavie ◽  
Charles Spence
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Selective Attention ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Short Article ◽  
Load Theory ◽  
Low Load ◽  
Irrelevant Distractors ◽  
Tactile Modality ◽  
First Time

Load theory suggests that working memory controls the extent to which irrelevant distractors are processed (e.g., Lavie, Hirst, De Fockert, & Viding, 2004). However, so far this proposal has only been tested in vision. Here, we examine the extent to which tactile selective attention also depends on working memory. In Experiment 1, participants focused their attention on continuous target vibrations while attempting to ignore pulsed distractor vibrations. In Experiment 2, targets were always presented to a particular hand, with distractors being presented to the other hand. In both experiments, a high (vs. low) load in a concurrent working memory task led to greater interference by the tactile distractors. These results establish the role of working memory in the control of tactile selective attention, demonstrating for the first time that the principles of load theory also apply to the tactile modality.

scholarly journals Neurophysiological Correlates of the Dunning-Kruger Effect

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alana Muller ◽  
Lindsey A. Sirianni ◽  
Richard J. Addante
Keyword(s):  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Metacognitive Judgments ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Better Than

Abstract.The Dunning-Kruger Effect (DKE) is a metacognitive phenomenon of illusory superiority in which individuals who perform poorly on a task believe they performed better than others, yet individuals who performed very well believe they under-performed compared to others. This phenomenon has yet to be directly explored in episodic memory, nor explored for reaction times or physiological correlates. We designed a novel method to elicit the DKE via a test of item recognition while electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. Throughout the task, participants were asked to estimate the percentile in which they performed compared to others. Results revealed participants in the bottom 25th percentile overestimated their percentile, while participants in the top 75th percentile underestimated their percentile, exhibiting the classic DKE. Reaction time measures revealed a condition x group interaction whereby over-estimators responded faster than under-estimators when estimating being in the top percentile and responded slower when estimating being in the bottom percentile.Between-group EEG differences were evident between over-estimators and under-estimators during Dunning-Kruger responses, which revealed FN400-like effects of familiarity supporting differences for over-estimators from 400-600 ms, whereas ‘old-new’ memory ERP effects revealed a late parietal component (LPC) associated with recollection-based processing from 600-900 ms for under-estimators that was not evident for over-estimators. Findings suggest over- and under-estimators use differing cognitive processes when assessing their performance, such that under-estimators rely on recollection during memory and over-estimators draw upon excess familiarity when over-estimating their performance. Episodic memory thus appears to play a contributory role in metacognitive judgments of illusory superiority and inferiority.Graphical AbstractEvent-related potentials (ERPS) were recorded for the Dunning-Kruger Effect as subjects made metacognitive judgments about performance on a memory task. Over- and Under-estimators exhibited a crossover interaction in response times when believing they did best and worst, respectively. A crossover pattern was also observed for ERPs: LPC signals of recollection were found for under-estimators, whereas familiarity-based FN400 effects were evident for over-estimators and correlated with estimates.

scholarly journals Interactions of explicit and implicit learning mechanisms in cross-situational word learning

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanja Roembke ◽  
Bob McMurray
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Implicit Learning ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Load Condition ◽  
High Load ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Low Load ◽  
Memory Resources

Both explicit and implicit learning processes contribute to cross-situational word learning (e.g., Roembke & McMurray, 2016; Warren et al., 2019). However, it is unclear how these learning processes interact, and if any specific aspect of cross-situational word learning is purely explicit. To investigate this, participants completed cross-situational word learning trials as well as a memory task that required remembering five (high-load) or only one (low-load) number in a between-subject, dual-task paradigm. This allowed us to manipulate whether working memory resources were available for explicit processing or not. Further, we used trial-by-trial analyses to estimate how different learning effects that are thought to map onto either explicit or implicit learning processes are affected by condition. Word learning accuracy was lower in the high-load than in the low-load condition; this was likely driven by performance late in the experiment. Moreover, both the more explicit and implicit effects were reduced when limiting working memory resources, suggesting that neither is purely the result of or independent of explicit learning processes. Consistent with a hybrid account, these findings indicate that explicit and implicit learning processes do not compete, but rather support each other, during cross-situational word learning.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document