Evidence for different types of errors being associated with different types of post-error changes

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Decision Making

Background:

• Errors in simple choice tasks systematically alter response time and accuracy in subsequent trials.
• Existing theories often overlook the diverse origins of choice errors and their differential impact on cognitive processes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if different causes of choice errors (response speed vs. evidence quality) produce distinct post-error changes.
• To explore the implications of these findings for understanding and measuring cognitive control.

Main Methods:

• Two recognition memory experiments were conducted.
• Participants completed tasks under speed-emphasis and accuracy-emphasis conditions to elicit specific error types.

Main Results:

• Response-speed errors were associated with traditional post-error slowing.
• Evidence-quality errors were linked to post-error speeding.
• Differential post-error adjustments were observed based on the error's cause.

Conclusions:

• Choice errors can arise from distinct mechanisms, namely response speed and evidence quality.
• Post-error changes are not uniform and depend on the error's underlying cause.
• Cognitive control theories should be broadened to include both adaptive and maladaptive strategies, considering the nuances of post-error adjustments.