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We do as we construe: extended behavior construed as one task is executed as one cognitive entity
1MRC-Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge, CB2 7EF, UK. Ausaf.Farooqui@gmail.com.
Psychological Research
|July 20, 2018
Summary
Hierarchical execution of behavior occurs when actions are perceived as a single task episode, not just for familiar tasks. This finding reveals a flexible cognitive mechanism for organizing complex actions, even with unpredictable steps.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Hierarchical execution, where extended tasks are treated as single units, is typically associated with familiar situations and pre-existing scripts.
- This cognitive strategy simplifies complex actions by controlling sequences of component steps.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether hierarchical execution occurs in novel situations lacking predetermined scripts.
- To examine the cognitive mechanisms underlying hierarchical task execution beyond familiar sequences.
Main Methods:
- Participants engaged in a rule-switching task with unpredictable trial rules.
- Participants were induced to perceive recurring trial blocks (three or five trials) as single task episodes.
- Behavioral measures, including reaction times and rule switch costs, were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Behavioral evidence of hierarchical execution was observed, mirroring patterns seen in memorized tasks.
- Reaction times on the first trial of an episode increased proportionally with episode length.
- Rule switch costs were absent between trials crossing episode boundaries, indicating unified processing.
Conclusions:
- Hierarchical execution is not limited to predictable sequences but occurs whenever behavior is construed as a task episode.
- This flexible cognitive process is driven by goal-related entities formed at the outset of execution.
- Task episodes provide purposive control across time until a goal is achieved, regardless of predictability.
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