The influence of gain- and loss-focused motivational instructions on feedback-processing during learning

Learning from feedback is one process by which we adapt our behavior to the environment. Since motivation is known to influence a variety of cognitive processes, the present study aimed at identifying whether electrophysiological indices of feedback processing can be influenced by a different motivational focus. For this reason, participants were split into two instruction groups, the gain-focused (n = 26) and the loss-focused (n = 27) group. In the gain-focused group, instructions highlighted that money could be gained in case of positive feedback, while in the loss-focused group, the possibility of losing money in case of negative feedback was stressed. Both groups performed a time estimation task. To be able to investigate feedback expectedness and valence, feedback was manipulated to occur at a rate of 20% each for positive and negative and 60% for intermediate feedback. Across groups, we replicated previous research demonstrating that the peak-to-peak FRN was sensitive to the detection of positive and negative expectancy violations. There were no differences in peak-to-peak FRN between the two instructional groups. However, P3b results suggest an influence of motivational instruction on working memory updating after feedback receipt. Specifically, we found an enhanced P3b for positive feedback in the gain-focused group, indicating that an instruction suggesting a focus on gains can result in stronger working memory updating after this type of feedback. The same was not found for negative feedback in the loss-focused group.