Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 30, 2026
13:57
Assessing the Multiple Dimensions of Engagement to Characterize Learning: A Neurophysiological Perspective
Published on: July 1, 2015
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Willingness towards cognitive engagement: a preliminary study based on a behavioural entropy approach
Elena Daprati1, Angela Sirigu2, Michel Desmurget2
1Dipartimento di Medicina dei Sistemi and CBMS, Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Via Montpellier 1, 00133, Rome, Italy. elena.daprati@uniroma2.it.
Experimental Brain Research
|February 2, 2019
Summary
Individual differences in task engagement may relate to brain hemisphere dominance. Women showed higher engagement and consistent effort, unlike men who showed reduced activity over time.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
Background:
- Understanding positive engagement in novel tasks is crucial, complementing research on apathy.
- Individual differences in task initiation and sustained effort are observable but not fully explained.
- Hemispheric lateralization theories suggest a link between left-hemisphere dominance and proactive behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if individual variability in cognitive task engagement correlates with hemispheric functioning.
- To explore gender-based differences in task engagement patterns.
- To examine the relationship between engagement, response patterns, and neurobiological factors.
Main Methods:
- Adapted a response-independent reinforcement task.
- Utilized entropy analysis to quantify response engagement, diversification, and predictability.
- Compared engagement patterns between male and female participants.
Main Results:
- Women exhibited higher entropy, indicating greater activity, less instruction dependency, and sustained engagement.
- Men displayed lower entropy, with longer pauses and decreased activity over time, responding more to negative incentives.
- Entropy measures effectively differentiated engagement styles.
Conclusions:
- Preliminary findings suggest potential links between hemispheric functioning, gender, and task engagement styles.
- Gender-related differences in engagement patterns may have neurobiological underpinnings.
- Further research is warranted to explore the 'why' and 'how' of proactive cognitive engagement.
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