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The Attentional Set Shifting Task: A Measure of Cognitive Flexibility in Mice

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Task Switching: On the Relation of Cognitive Flexibility with Cognitive Capacity.

Florian Schmitz¹, Raimund J Krämer¹

¹Department of Psychology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstraße 2, 45141 Essen, Germany.

Journal of Intelligence

|April 27, 2023

Summary

Cognitive flexibility, measured by task switching, is linked to cognitive ability. Higher cognitive ability correlates with faster task preparation and less response caution, suggesting more efficient cognitive processing.

Keywords:

cognitive capacity cognitive flexibility diffusion model latent difference modeling task switching visuospatial working memory

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Neuroscience
Human Cognition

Background:

Task switching is a key measure of cognitive flexibility.
Individual differences in task-switch costs are moderately inversely related to general cognitive ability.
Current theories highlight component processes like task-set preparation and inertia in task switching.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the relationship between specific task-switching processes and cognitive ability.
To decompose the task-switch effect using the diffusion model.
To examine how visuospatial working memory capacity (WMC) relates to task-switching dynamics.

Main Methods:

Participants completed a task-switching paradigm with geometric forms and a visuospatial WMC task.
The diffusion model was employed to decompose task-switch effects.
Structural equation modeling was used to estimate latent differences in task-switching and response congruency effects.

Main Results:

Replication of increased non-decision time in task-switch trials.
Task switches and response incongruency independently affected drift rates, indicating differential impacts on task readiness.
Visuospatial WMC was inversely related to the task-switch effect in non-decision time and moderately inversely related to response caution.

Conclusions:

Higher cognitive ability, specifically WMC, is associated with reduced non-decision time during task switching.
Findings suggest that more cognitively able individuals may require less time for task-set preparation or invest less time in it.
The study provides nuanced insights into the cognitive mechanisms underlying task switching and their relation to individual differences in cognitive capacity.