The test of both worlds: identifying feature binding and control processes in congruency sequence tasks by means of action dynamics

The action dynamics of approach-avoidance conflict during decision-making

Approach-avoidance conflict is observed in the competing motivations towards the benefits and away from the costs of a decision. The current study investigates the action dynamics of response motion during such conflicts in an attempt to characterise their dynamic resolution. An approach-avoidance conflict was generated by varying the appetitive consequences of a decision (i.e., point rewards and shorter participation time) in the presence of simultaneous aversive consequences (i.e., shock probability). Across two experiments, approach-avoidance conflict differentially affected response trajectories. Approach trajectories were less complex than avoidance trajectories and, as approach and avoidance motivations neared equipotentiality, response trajectories were more deflected from the shortest route to the eventual choice. Consistency in the location of approach and avoidance response options reduced variability in performance enabling more sensitive estimates of dynamic conflict. The time course of competing influences on response trajectories including trial-to-trial effects and conflict between approach and avoidance were estimated using regression analyses. We discuss these findings in terms of a dynamic theory of approach-avoidance that we hope will lead to insights of practical relevance in the field of maladaptive avoidance.

The Specificity and Reliability of Conflict Adaptation: A Mouse-Tracking Study

Researchers have recently begun to question the specificity and reliability of conflict adaptation effects, also known as sequential congruency effects (SCEs), a highly cited effect in cognitive psychology. Some have even used the lack of reliability across tasks (e.g., Flanker, and Stroop) to argue against models of cognitive control that have dominated the field for decades. The present study tested the possibility that domain-general processes across tasks might appear on more sensitive mouse-tracking metrics rather than overall reaction times. The relationship between SCE effects on the Stroop and Flanker tasks were examined for the first time using a mouse-tracking paradigm. Three main findings emerged: (1) Robust SCEs were observed for both the Stroop and Flanker tasks at the group level, (2) Within-task split-half reliabilities for the SCE across dependent variables were weak at best and non-existent in many cases, and (3) SCEs for the Flanker and Stroop tasks did not correlate with each other for overall reaction times, but did show significant correlations between tasks on more dynamic measures that captured processes before response execution. These findings contribute to the literature by highlighting how mouse-tracking may be a fruitful avenue by which future studies can examine the specificity and reliability of conflict adaptation and tease apart different theoretical models producing the effects.

Examination of a Response–Effect Compatibility Task With Continuous Mouse Movements: Free- Versus Forced-Choice Tasks and Sequential Modulations

According to ideomotor theory, we select actions by recalling and anticipating their sensory consequences, that is, their action effects. Compelling evidence for this theory comes from response–effect compatibility (REC) experiments, in which a response produces an effect with which it is either compatible or incompatible. For example, pressing a left/right response key is faster if it is predictably followed by an action effect on the same, compatible side compared with the other, incompatible side, even though the effect itself appears only after response time is measured. Recent studies investigated this effect with continuous responses (i.e., computer mouse movements) and reported an REC effect in a forced-choice but not in a free-choice task. From the keypressing literature, the opposite result pattern or no differences would have been expected. To clarify this issue, we report 3 experiments with mouse movement responses. Experiment 1 used a simpler scenario than in prior studies and found a similar result: The REC effect was evident in a forced- but not in a free-choice task. Also, sequential modulations of the REC effect were exploratorily analyzed and replicated with higher power in Experiment 2. However, Experiment 3 demonstrated that at least part of the REC effect with mouse movements can be attributed to stimulus–response compatibility (SRC), with a much smaller compatibility effect evident with a procedure for which SRC was reduced. We conclude that a sequentially modulated compatibility effect can be observed with mouse movements, but previous studies may have underestimated the contribution from SRC. The results are also discussed in terms of why the compatibility effect was observed in forced- but not free-choice tasks with mouse movement responses.

Cognitive dynamics of intertemporal choice in gambling disorder

Gambling Disorder (GD) is a behavioral addiction characterized by the persistence of recurrent gambling behaviors despite serious adverse consequences. One of the key features of GD is a marked inability to delay gratification and an overall impairment of decision-making mechanisms. Indeed, in intertemporal choice (ITC) tasks, GD patients usually display a marked tendency to prefer smaller-sooner over larger-later rewards (temporal discounting, TD). However, ITC represents a highly verbal/explicit measure, and as such it might not be sensitive to implicit decision biases. Here we sought to uncover the implicit mechanisms underlying the ITC impairment in GD by employing the process-tracing method of mouse kinematics. To this aim, we collected and analyzed ITCs and kinematics measures from 24 GD patients and 23 matched healthy control participants (HC). In line with the relevant literature, the results showed that GD patients discounted future rewards more steeply compared to HCs. Additionally, the results of kinematics analyses showed that patients were characterized by a strong bias toward the immediate option, which was associated with straight-line trajectories. Conversely, the delayed option was selected with edge-curved trajectories, indicating a bias toward the immediate option which was revised in later stages of processing. Interestingly, kinematics indices were also found to be predictive of individual discounting preferences (i.e., discount rates) across the two groups. Taken together, these results suggest that kinematics indices, by revealing hidden and implicit patterns of attraction toward the unselected choice option, may represent reliable behavioral markers of TD in gambling disorder.

Psychometrics of the continuous mind: Measuring cognitive sub-processes via mouse tracking

The measurement of psychological properties often relies on discrete measures, for example, answers in questionnaires or responses in tasks. This focus on discrete measures neglects information that is present in the process leading to an answer or a response. A method to trace such processes is mouse tracking. Mouse tracking promises to open a continuous window onto the processes leading from a stimulus to a response. However, most mouse-tracking studies fall short of the promise to extract dynamic psychometrically valid markers for the different sub-processes, which are intertwined on the way to the final response. Here we used time-continuous multiple regression (TCMR) to extract dynamic markers for the different sub-processes leading to a response. From these markers, we extracted information about the timing, the duration, and the strength of the influence of the different sub-processes. We evaluated these dynamic measures of sub-processes for their psychometric properties, i.e. reliability, which is a basis for their use in the study of individual differences. Furthermore, we applied these dynamic measures in a group-level study to identify differences in the sub-processes of resolving response conflict between groups performing either a Simon or a flanker task. We found specific temporal patterns that match predictions from a conceptual model of these tasks. We concluded that the extracted information from mouse movements could be used as psychometrically valid dynamic measures of psychological properties and their differences across individuals and situations.A software toolbox to perform the described analyses in Matlab is provided (osf.io/5e3vn).

Stuck at the starting line: How the starting procedure influences mouse-tracking data

Mouse-tracking is an increasingly popular method to trace cognitive processes. As is common for a novel method, the exact methodological procedures employed in an individual study are still relatively idiosyncratic and the effects of different methodological setups on mouse-tracking measures have not been explored so far. Here, we study the impact of one commonly occurring methodological variation, namely whether participants have to initiate their mouse movements to trigger stimulus presentation (dynamic starting condition) or whether the stimulus is presented automatically after a fixed delay and participants can freely decide when to initiate their movements (static starting condition). We compared data from a previous study in which participants performed a mouse-tracking version of a Simon task with a dynamic starting condition to data from a new study that employed a static starting condition in an otherwise identical setup. Results showed reliable Simon effects and Congruency Sequence effects on response time (RT) and discrete trial-level mouse-tracking measures (i.e., average deviation) in both starting conditions. In contrast, within-trial continuous measures (i.e., extracted temporal segments) were weaker and occurred in a more temporally compressed way in the static compared to the dynamic starting condition. This was in line with generally less consistent movements within and across participants in the static compared to the dynamic condition. Our results suggest that studies that use within-trial continuous measures to assess dynamic aspects of mouse movements should apply dynamic starting procedures to enhance the leakage of cognitive processing into the mouse movements.