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Cognitive effort investment: Does disposition become action?
Corinna Kührt1, Sven-Thomas Graupner1, Philipp C Paulus2
1Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Plos One
|August 22, 2023
Summary
Individuals high in dispositional cognitive effort investment, or the drive for challenging thinking, show more efficient effort exertion. They invest effort based on task demand rather than solely on potential rewards.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Economics
Background:
- Dispositional cognitive effort investment, encompassing need for cognition and self-control, predicts a preference for challenging tasks.
- The relationship between dispositional cognitive effort investment and actual, measurable effort exertion remains underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how dispositional cognitive effort investment relates to objective measures of cognitive effort during demanding tasks.
- To determine if individuals with high cognitive effort investment prioritize task demands over potential rewards when allocating effort.
Main Methods:
- Measured actual cognitive effort using multiple indices: subjective load, reaction time, accuracy, frontal midline theta power, N2 and P3 amplitudes, and pupil dilation.
- Utilized flanker and n-back tasks with manipulated demand and payoff in 148 participants.
- Exploratorily examined subdimensions: cognitive motivation and effortful self-control.
Main Results:
- Effort indices were sensitive to both task demand and, to some extent, payoff.
- Cognitive effort investment significantly affected accuracy in the n-back task.
- Payoff interacted with effort for reaction time and P3 amplitude (n-back), while demand influenced frontal midline theta power (flanker).
Conclusions:
- Results partially support that high dispositional cognitive effort investment leads to more efficient effort allocation.
- Findings suggest individuals with high cognitive effort investment may exert effort irrespective of payoff, particularly when demands are high.
- This research clarifies person-situation interactions influencing effort in goal-directed behavior.
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