Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 19, 2026
The Remember-Know Task: Memory Recall and Brain Activation
Published on: April 30, 2023
Anticipated, experienced, and remembered subjective effort and discomfort on sustained attention versus working
Veerpal Bambrah1, Chia-Fen Hsu2, Maggie E Toplak1
1Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada.
Abstract:
This study examined individuals' ability to accurately anticipate how cognitively effortful and uncomfortable a task will feel based on a short sample of the task. Participants completed a sustained attention or working memory task. Post-practice, participants rated the effort and discomfort that they anticipated their task would require and engender, respectively. Participants also rated their effort and discomfort during task-administration and the effort and discomfort they recalled feeling after task-administration. Sustained attention task participants anticipated significantly less effort than working memory task participants. Sustained attention task participants felt significantly more effort during the task and remembered feeling more effort than they had anticipated. Working memory task participants felt significantly less effort during the task than they had anticipated. Sustained attention task participants anticipated, experienced, and recalled feeling more discomfort than working memory task participants. Individuals' anticipation of effort required depends on the task and is different from the effort they actually feel during the task and later recall feeling.
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