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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 23, 2026

Errors as a Means of Reducing Impulsive Food Choice

Errors as a Means of Reducing Impulsive Food Choice

Published on: June 5, 2016

Error reactivity in self-paced performance: Highly-accurate individuals exhibit largest post-error slowing.

Michael B Steinborn¹, Hagen C Flehmig, Daniel Bratzke

¹Evolutionary Cognition, University of Tübingen, Germany. michael.steinborn@uni-tuebingen.de

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (2006)

|April 3, 2012

Summary

Post-error slowing, the increased reaction time after an error, is larger for less frequent errors. This finding supports the orienting response theory over strategic adjustment explanations.

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Neuroscience

Background:

Post-error slowing, an increase in reaction time after an erroneous response, is a well-documented phenomenon.
Traditional explanations involve strategic adjustments in response thresholds for conservative behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

To test the prediction of the orienting account of post-error slowing.
To investigate the relationship between error frequency and post-error slowing using an individual-differences approach.

Main Methods:

Participants were classified into accuracy groups (high, medium, low).
Reaction times and accuracy were analyzed in relation to preceding response accuracy.
The effect of practice on post-error performance was examined.

Main Results:

Larger post-error slowing and decreased accuracy were observed in the high-accuracy group compared to lower-accuracy groups.
Practice exacerbated the post-error accuracy decline, particularly in the high-accuracy group.
Results align with the orienting response account.

Conclusions:

The findings support the orienting response (OR) account, suggesting errors trigger an OR that inhibits processing.
The results challenge strategic evaluation mechanisms as the primary explanation for post-error slowing.
Individual differences in accuracy modulate the effects of post-error processing.