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Bottom-up influences on voluntary task switching in different reward contexts?
V Jurczyk1, K Fröber2, G Dreisbach2
1Department of Psychology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany; Department of Psychology, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany.
Acta Psychologica
|May 8, 2021
Summary
High reward contexts do not increase task switching in humans, even with irrelevant cues. Instead, high rewards decrease voluntary task switching, promoting cognitive stability.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Economics
Background:
- Voluntary task switching in humans is influenced by stimulus changes.
- Ants show increased switching with irrelevant cues in high-reward contexts.
- The role of reward context on human task switching remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if reward context influences voluntary task switching in humans in response to meaningless cue changes.
- To determine if humans exhibit increased switching behavior under high reward conditions, similar to ants.
- To explore the relationship between reward prospect and cognitive stability during task switching.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments involving voluntary task switching were conducted with human participants.
- Participants chose between two tasks, each preceded by different color cues.
- Reward prospect was manipulated across blocks (no, low, or high reward).
Main Results:
- Cue changes did not affect the voluntary switch rate in either experiment.
- The voluntary switch rate was significantly lower in high-reward blocks compared to no-reward or low-reward blocks.
- High reward prospect appears to enhance cognitive stability by reducing task switching.
Conclusions:
- Bottom-up influences on deliberate task switching in humans are limited to task-relevant information.
- A high-reward context does not increase, but rather decreases, voluntary task switching in humans.
- Unchanged high reward prospect promotes cognitive stability, suggesting a potential mechanism for focused attention.
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