Strategies When Choosing Between Movement Options in a Sequential Task

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Motor Control
• Decision Science

Background:

• Previous research established that individuals select tasks with maximum expected gain (MEG) when choosing between two independent options.
• The current study investigates decision-making when tasks are performed sequentially (Task-A THEN Task-B).

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if individuals prioritize the higher or lower MEG task when performing tasks sequentially.
• To explore the influence of spatial properties and reward values on sequential task selection.

Main Methods:

• Participants were presented with two target-penalty configurations varying in overlap and reward value.
• Participants imagined performing sequential aiming movements to both configurations and indicated their preferred initial target.
• Analysis focused on choices when MEGs differed and when they were similar.

Main Results:

• When MEGs differed, participants predominantly chose to aim for the configuration with the higher MEG first.
• When MEGs were similar, participants favored configurations with larger target regions (higher success probability) and greater penalties.
• Some individual strategy variations were observed.

Conclusions:

• The findings suggest a general strategy of performing tasks with higher potential gain before those with lower potential gain in sequential scenarios.
• Decision-making in sequential tasks is influenced by both expected gain and spatial success probability.