Challenge, motivation, and effort: Neural and behavioral correlates of self-control of difficulty during practice

Self-control of task-relevant parameters during practice results in superior learning. However, the mechanisms underlying this effect remain unclear. To investigate these effects, we collected frontal alpha asymmetry (ΔFAS) and midline frontal theta (ΔMFT). Sixty novice participants were randomized into a self-controlled group, controlling difficulty for each block in a videogame task, or a yoked group, with difficulty matched to a self-controlled counterpart. ΔMFT decreased with better performance and increased at higher levels of difficulty, but the effect of difficulty was moderated by group. There was also a Block x Group interaction for ΔMFT. Changing difficulty depended on a participant's group and score, and participant engagement in the self-controlled group. This pattern of results suggests that self-controlled participants were better prepared to deal with more difficult environments. These data provide insight into the physiological factors that might explain self-controlled learning effects.