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Meyer T, Kim AD, Spivey M, Yoshimi J. Mouse tracking performance: A new approach to analyzing continuous mouse tracking data. Behav Res Methods 2024; 56:4682-4694. [PMID: 37726639 PMCID: PMC11289036 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-023-02210-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023]
Abstract
Mouse tracking is an important source of data in cognitive science. Most contemporary mouse tracking studies use binary-choice tasks and analyze the curvature or velocity of an individual mouse movement during an experimental trial as participants select from one of the two options. However, there are many types of mouse tracking data available beyond what is produced in a binary-choice task, including naturalistic data from web users. In order to utilize these data, cognitive scientists need tools that are robust to the lack of trial-by-trial structure in most normal computer tasks. We use singular value decomposition (SVD) and detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) to analyze whole time series of unstructured mouse movement data. We also introduce a new technique for describing two-dimensional mouse traces as complex-valued time series, which allows SVD and DFA to be applied in a straightforward way without losing important spatial information. We find that there is useful information at the level of whole time series, and we use this information to predict performance in an online task. We also discuss how the implications of these results can advance the use of mouse tracking research in cognitive science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim Meyer
- Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced, Merced, CA, USA.
| | - Arnold D Kim
- Department of Applied Mathematics, University of California, Merced, Merced, CA, USA
| | - Michael Spivey
- Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced, Merced, CA, USA
| | - Jeff Yoshimi
- Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced, Merced, CA, USA
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2
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Selbing I, Skewes J. The expression of decision and learning variables in movement patterns related to decision actions. Exp Brain Res 2024; 242:1311-1325. [PMID: 38551690 PMCID: PMC11108959 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-024-06805-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 05/23/2024]
Abstract
Decisions are not necessarily easy to separate into a planning and an execution phase and the decision-making process can often be reflected in the movement associated with the decision. Here, we used formalized definitions of concepts relevant in decision-making and learning to explore if and how these concepts correlate with decision-related movement paths, both during and after a choice is made. To this end, we let 120 participants (46 males, mean age = 24.5 years) undergo a repeated probabilistic two-choice task with changing probabilities where we used mouse-tracking, a simple non-invasive technique, to study the movements related to decisions. The decisions of the participants were modelled using Bayesian inference which enabled the computation of variables related to decision-making and learning. Analyses of the movement during the decision showed effects of relevant decision variables, such as confidence, on aspects related to, for instance, timing and pausing, range of movement and deviation from the shortest distance. For the movements after a decision there were some effects of relevant learning variables, mainly related to timing and speed. We believe our findings can be of interest for researchers within several fields, spanning from social learning to experimental methods and human-machine/robot interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ida Selbing
- Division of Psychology, Karolinska Institutet, Nobels väg 9, Solna, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
| | - Joshua Skewes
- Department for Linguistics, Cognitive Science, and Semiotics, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
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3
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Schlenter J, Westergaard M. What eye and hand movements tell us about expectations towards argument order: An eye- and mouse-tracking study in German. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2024; 246:104241. [PMID: 38613853 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2023] [Revised: 04/02/2024] [Accepted: 04/05/2024] [Indexed: 04/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Previous research on real-time sentence processing in German has shown that listeners use the morphological marking of accusative case on a sentence-initial noun phrase to not only interpret the current argument as the object and patient, but also to predict a plausible agent. So far, less is known about the use of case marking to predict the semantic role of upcoming arguments after the subject/agent has been encountered. In the present study, we examined the use of case marking for argument interpretation in transitive as well as ditransitive structures. We aimed to control for multiple factors that could have influenced processing in previous studies, including the animacy of arguments, world knowledge, and the perceptibility of the case cue. Our results from eye- and mouse-tracking indicate that the exploitation of the first case cue that enables the interpretation of the unfolding sentence is influenced by (i) the strength of argument order expectation and (ii) the perceptual salience of the case cue. PsycINFO code: 2720 Linguistics & Language & Speech.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith Schlenter
- Department of Language and Culture, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø 9037, Norway.
| | - Marit Westergaard
- Department of Language and Culture, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø 9037, Norway; Department of Language and Literature, NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim 7491, Norway
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Koenig-Robert R, Quek GL, Grootswagers T, Varlet M. Movement trajectories as a window into the dynamics of emerging neural representations. Sci Rep 2024; 14:11499. [PMID: 38769313 PMCID: PMC11106280 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-62135-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2024] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
The rapid transformation of sensory inputs into meaningful neural representations is critical to adaptive human behaviour. While non-invasive neuroimaging methods are the de-facto method for investigating neural representations, they remain expensive, not widely available, time-consuming, and restrictive. Here we show that movement trajectories can be used to measure emerging neural representations with fine temporal resolution. By combining online computer mouse-tracking and publicly available neuroimaging data via representational similarity analysis (RSA), we show that movement trajectories track the unfolding of stimulus- and category-wise neural representations along key dimensions of the human visual system. We demonstrate that time-resolved representational structures derived from movement trajectories overlap with those derived from M/EEG (albeit delayed) and those derived from fMRI in functionally-relevant brain areas. Our findings highlight the richness of movement trajectories and the power of the RSA framework to reveal and compare their information content, opening new avenues to better understand human perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger Koenig-Robert
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Genevieve L Quek
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
| | - Tijl Grootswagers
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
- School of Computer, Data and Mathematical Sciences, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
| | - Manuel Varlet
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia.
- School of Psychology, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, 2751, Australia.
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Zhang S, Wilmut K, Zhang K, Wang S. Age-related changes in motor planning for prior intentions: a mouse tracking reach-to-click task. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1323798. [PMID: 38562237 PMCID: PMC10983849 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1323798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
When we complete sequential movements with different intentions, we plan our movements and adjust ahead. Such a phenomenon is called anticipatory planning for prior intentions and is known to decline with age. In daily life activities, we often need to consider and plan for multiple demands in one movement sequence. However, previous studies only considered one dimension of prior intentions, either different types of onward actions or different precisions of fit or placement. Therefore, in this study, we investigated anticipatory planning for both extrinsic (movement direction) and intrinsic (fit precision) target-related properties in a computer-based movement task and analyzed the computer cursor movement kinematics of both young and older adults. We found that older people consider and adjust for different properties step-by-step, with movement direction being considered as a prior intention during reach movement and fit precision as a motor constraint during drop movement. The age-related changes in the completion of onward actions are constrained by one's general cognitive ability, sensorimotor performance and effective motor planning for prior intentions. Age-related decline in motor planning can manifest as counterproductive movement profiles, resulting in suboptimal performance of intended actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shujing Zhang
- Global Health Research Center, Duke Kunshan University, Kunshan, China
- Division of Natural and Applied Sciences, Duke Kunshan University, Kunshan, China
| | - Kate Wilmut
- Department of Psychology, Health and Professional Development, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Kaiyu Zhang
- Department of Geriatrics, The First People's Hospital of Kunshan, Kunshan, China
| | - Shan Wang
- Global Health Research Center, Duke Kunshan University, Kunshan, China
- Division of Natural and Applied Sciences, Duke Kunshan University, Kunshan, China
- Department of Psychology, Health and Professional Development, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
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6
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Ericson JD, Albert WS. Evidence for Shifting Cognitive Strategies when Icons Appear in Unexpected Locations. HUMAN FACTORS 2024; 66:891-903. [PMID: 36517941 DOI: 10.1177/00187208221144875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The present study examines the cognitive effects of placing icons in unexpected spatial locations within websites. BACKGROUND Prior research has revealed evidence for cognitive conflict when web icons occur in unexpected locations (e.g., cart, top left), generally consistent with a dynamical systems models. Here, we compare the relative strength of evidence for both dual and dynamical systems models. METHODS Participants clicked on icons located in either expected (e.g., cart, top right) or unexpected (e.g., cart, top left) locations while mouse trajectories were continuously recorded. Trajectories were classified according to prototypes associated with each cognitive model. The dynamical systems model predicts curved trajectories, while the dual-systems model predicts straight and change of mind trajectories. RESULTS Trajectory classification revealed that curved trajectories increased (+11%), while straight and change of mind trajectories decreased (-12%) when target icons occurred in unexpected locations (p < .001). CONCLUSION Rather than employing a single cognitive strategy, users shift from a primarily dual-systems to dynamical systems strategy when icons occur in unexpected locations. APPLICATION Potential applications of this work include the assessment of cognitive impacts such as mental workload and cognitive conflict during real-time interaction with websites and other screen-based interfaces, personalization and adaptive interfaces based on an individual's cognitive strategy, and data-driven A/B testing of alternative interface designs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - William S Albert
- Bentley University, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA
- Mach49, California, USA
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Potamianou H, Bryce D. How flexible is cognitive control? (Mouse) tracking conflict adaptation across context similarities. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2024; 88:562-579. [PMID: 37770556 PMCID: PMC10858099 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-023-01874-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023]
Abstract
Exerting cognitive control to remain on-task and reach our goals is a crucial skill, as is the ability to flexibly adapt our responding in rapidly changing environments. The dynamics of cognitive control are typically studied by examining how participants process stimuli that contain competing relevant and irrelevant information in so-called conflict tasks. Adjustments in performance following the experience of conflict, also termed conflict adaptation, suggests a certain degree of flexibility in the deployment of cognitive control. The present study investigated to what extent conflict adaptation effects transfer across trials of the same and different tasks in three online mouse-tracking experiments. Adaptations of the Simon and Stroop tasks were combined to create different levels of context similarity between the paired tasks. Based on a previous review (Braem et al., Frontiers in Psychology 5:1-13, 2014), across-task conflict adaptation was expected only in the most and least similar contexts. In contrast to our hypothesis, conflict adaptation effects were observed in at least one measure in all three experiments. To our surprise, task order also seemed to impact the size of across-task conflict adaptation effects. The heterogeneity in the current results highlight the importance of using sensitive measurement tools to evaluate conflict adaptation and suggest that the occurrence of across-task conflict adaptation may be conditional on more than just shared relevant and irrelevant dimensions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hera Potamianou
- Department of Psychology, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Schleichstrasse 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Donna Bryce
- Department of Psychology, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Schleichstrasse 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Psychology, University of Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany
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8
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Gatti D, Marelli M, Rinaldi L. Predicting Hand Movements With Distributional Semantics: Evidence From Mouse-Tracking. Cogn Sci 2024; 48:e13372. [PMID: 38196167 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.13399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2022] [Revised: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024]
Abstract
Although mouse-tracking has been taken as a real-time window on different aspects of human decision-making processes, whether purely semantic information affects response conflict at the level of motor output as measured through mouse movements is still unknown. Here, across two experiments, we investigated the effects of semantic knowledge by predicting participants' performance in a standard keyboard task and in a mouse-tracking task through distributional semantics, a usage-based modeling approach to meaning. In Experiment 1, participants were shown word pairs and were required to perform a two-alternative forced choice task selecting either the more abstract or the more concrete word, using standard keyboard presses. In Experiment 2, participants performed the same task, yet this time response selection was achieved by moving the computer mouse. Results showed that the involvement of semantic components in the task at hand is observable using both standard reaction times (Experiment 1) as well as using indexes extracted from mouse trajectories (Experiment 2). In particular, mouse trajectories reflected the response conflict and its temporal evolution, with a larger deviation for increasing word semantic relatedness. These findings support the validity of mouse-tracking as a method to detect deep and implicit decision-making features. Additionally, by demonstrating that a usage-based model of meaning can account for the different degrees of cognitive conflict associated with task achievement, these findings testify the impact of the human semantic memory on decision-making processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniele Gatti
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia
| | - Marco Marelli
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca
- NeuroMI, Milan Center for Neuroscience
| | - Luca Rinaldi
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia
- Cognitive Psychology Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation
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9
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Tanyas H, Kuhlmann BG. The temporal development of memory processes in source monitoring: An investigation with mouse tracking. Psychon Bull Rev 2023; 30:2305-2314. [PMID: 37138149 PMCID: PMC10156421 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-023-02289-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
The present study investigated whether we first remember an item (e.g., a word itself) and then its source (e.g., position on the screen) or whether the retrieval of item and source information can (partially) overlap. Participants were tested on the source either in immediate sequence to item recognition (as standard in source-monitoring research) or following as a separate block after full completion of the item recognition test to separate these processes in time, providing a baseline. Using the mouse-tracking procedure during the item and source tests, we analyzed how item and source decisions unfolded qualitatively over time. Despite no significant difference in the aggregated trajectory curvatures, more thorough analyses based on the individual trajectories revealed differences across the test formats. In the standard format, trajectories were less curved in the source than in the item test. In contrast, in the blocked format, this difference was in the other direction with source showing more curved trajectories than item. Alternative interpretations of mouse-trajectory curvatures on the source-monitoring paradigm and what their difference may imply for item and source processing are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hilal Tanyas
- School of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany.
| | - Beatrice G Kuhlmann
- School of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
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10
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Xiao K, Zhang A, Qu J, Deng F, Guo C, Yamauchi T. Hand Motions Reveal Attentional Status and Subliminal Semantic Processing: A Mouse-Tracking Technique. Brain Sci 2023; 13:1267. [PMID: 37759868 PMCID: PMC10526379 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13091267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2023] [Revised: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Theories of embodied cognition suggest that hand motions and cognition are closely interconnected. An emerging technique of tracking how participants move a computer mouse (i.e., the mouse-tracking technique) has shown advantages over the traditional response time measurement to detect implicit cognitive conflicts. Previous research suggests that attention is essential for subliminal processing to take place at a semantic level. However, this assumption is challenged by evidence showing the presence of subliminal semantic processing in the near-absence of attention. The inconsistency of evidence could stem from the insufficient sensitivity in the response time measurement. Therefore, we examined the role of attention in subliminal semantic processing by analyzing participants' hand motions using the mouse-tracking technique. The results suggest that subliminal semantic processing is not only enhanced by attention but also occurs when attention is disrupted, challenging the necessity of facilitated top-down attention for subliminal semantic processing, as claimed by a number of studies. In addition, by manipulating the color of attentional cues, our experiment shows that the cue color per se could influence participants' response patterns. Overall, the current study suggests that attentional status and subliminal semantic processing can be reliably revealed by temporal-spatial features extracted from cursor motion trajectories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kunchen Xiao
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610066, China
| | - Anqi Zhang
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610066, China
| | - Jingke Qu
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610066, China
| | - Feifei Deng
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610066, China
| | - Chenyan Guo
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610066, China
| | - Takashi Yamauchi
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4235, USA
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Henninger F, Kieslich PJ, Fernández-Fontelo A, Greven S, Kreuter F. Privacy Attitudes toward Mouse-Tracking Paradata Collection. PUBLIC OPINION QUARTERLY 2023; 87:602-618. [PMID: 37705922 PMCID: PMC10496572 DOI: 10.1093/poq/nfad034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/15/2023]
Abstract
Survey participants' mouse movements provide a rich, unobtrusive source of paradata, offering insight into the response process beyond the observed answers. However, the use of mouse tracking may require participants' explicit consent for their movements to be recorded and analyzed. Thus, the question arises of how its presence affects the willingness of participants to take part in a survey at all-if prospective respondents are reluctant to complete a survey if additional measures are recorded, collecting paradata may do more harm than good. Previous research has found that other paradata collection modes reduce the willingness to participate, and that this decrease may be influenced by the specific motivation provided to participants for collecting the data. However, the effects of mouse movement collection on survey consent and participation have not been addressed so far. In a vignette experiment, we show that reported willingness to participate in a survey decreased when mouse tracking was part of the overall consent. However, a larger proportion of the sample indicated willingness to both take part and provide mouse-tracking data when these decisions were combined, compared to an independent opt-in to paradata collection, separated from the decision to complete the study. This suggests that survey practitioners may face a trade-off between maximizing their overall participation rate and maximizing the number of participants who also provide mouse-tracking data. Explaining motivations for paradata collection did not have a positive effect and, in some cases, even reduced participants' reported willingness to take part in the survey.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Henninger
- Graduate Student at the Chair for Statistics and Data Science in Social Sciences and the Humanities, Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Statistics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany; and Research Affiliate, Mannheim Centre for European Social Research, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Pascal J Kieslich
- Research Affiliate, Mannheim Centre for European Social Research, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Amanda Fernández-Fontelo
- Postdoctoral Researcher, Departament de Matemàtiques, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; and Research Affiliate with Chair of Statistics, School of Business and Economics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Sonja Greven
- Professor at the Chair of Statistics, School of Business and Economics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Frauke Kreuter
- Professor at the Chair for Statistics and Data Science in Social Sciences and the Humanities, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany; and Professor, Joint Program in Survey Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, US
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Spix M, Schutzeichel F, Jansen A. Can you learn to starve yourself? Inducing food avoidance in the laboratory. Behav Res Ther 2023; 166:104340. [PMID: 37267783 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2023.104340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Revised: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
The restriction of energy intake is a central and persistent symptom of anorexia nervosa. Recent models of the disorder suggest that food restrictions are learned avoidance behaviours, which are acquired and maintained by classical and operant conditioning. The present study aims to test this learning model of food restriction. It investigates whether introducing negative consequences for the intake of tasty high-calorie food and introducing positive consequences for its avoidance can create food avoidance, increase fear of food, and decrease eating desires in healthy individuals. 104 women were randomly assigned to an experimental or control condition and completed an appetitive conditioning and avoidance learning task. While the experimental condition received money after avoiding the tasty high-calorie food item and heard an aversive sound after not avoiding food intake, the control condition never received these consequences. In the extinction phase, reward and punishment discontinued for both conditions. We measured avoidance frequency, mouse movements, fear, eating desires and stimulus liking. Participants in the experimental condition avoided the food more often than controls and showed increased fear, reduced eating desires and less liking for cues associated with food intake. These results support the notion that food avoidance behaviours, reduced eating desires and fear of food can be learned via classical and operant conditioning. Conditioning paradigms might be a useful tool to study the development and maintenance of food restriction in anorexia nervosa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle Spix
- Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University, the Netherlands.
| | - Franziska Schutzeichel
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology, University of Groningen, the Netherlands.
| | - Anita Jansen
- Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University, the Netherlands.
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Zani G, Butterfill SA, Low J. Mindreading by body: incorporating mediolateral balance and mouse-tracking measures to examine the motor basis of adults' false-belief tracking. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:221212. [PMID: 37234504 PMCID: PMC10206456 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.221212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
The role played by motor representations in tracking others' belief-based actions remains unclear. In experiment 1, the dynamics of adults' anticipatory mediolateral motor activity (leftwards-rightwards leaning on a balance board) as well as hand trajectories were measured as they attempted to help an agent who had a true or false belief about an object's location. Participants' leaning was influenced by the agent's belief about the target's location when the agent was free to act but not when she was motorically constrained. However, the hand trajectories participants produced to provide a response were not modulated by the other person's beliefs. Therefore, we designed a simplified second experiment in which participants were instructed to click as fast as possible on the location of a target object. In experiment 2, mouse-movements deviated from an ideal direct path to the object location, with trajectories that were influenced by the location in which the agent falsely believed the object to be located. These experiments highlight that information about an agent's false-belief can be mapped onto the motor system of a passive observer, and that there are situations in which the motor system plays an important role in accurate belief-tracking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Zani
- School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
| | | | - Jason Low
- School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
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14
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Meidenbauer KL, Niu T, Choe KW, Stier AJ, Berman MG. Mouse movements reflect personality traits and task attentiveness in online experiments. J Pers 2023; 91:413-425. [PMID: 35591790 PMCID: PMC10084322 DOI: 10.1111/jopy.12736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Revised: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/13/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE In this rapidly digitizing world, it is becoming ever more important to understand people's online behaviors in both scientific and consumer research settings. The current work tests the feasibility of inferring personality traits from mouse movement patterns as a cost-effective means of measuring individual characteristics. METHOD Mouse movement features (i.e., pauses, fixations, speed, and clicks) were collected while participants (N = 791) completed an online image choice task. We compare the results of standard univariate and three forms of multivariate partial least squares (PLS) analyses predicting Big Five traits from mouse movements. We also examine whether mouse movements can predict a proposed measure of task attentiveness (atypical responding), and how these might be related to personality traits. RESULTS Each of the PLS analyses showed significant associations between a linear combination of personality traits (high Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Openness, and low Neuroticism) and several mouse movements associated with slower, more deliberate responding (less unnecessary clicks and more fixations). Additionally, several click-related mouse features were associated with atypical responding on the task. CONCLUSIONS As the image choice task itself is not intended to assess personality in any way, our results validate the feasibility of using mouse movements to infer internal traits across experimental contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly L Meidenbauer
- Environmental Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Tianyue Niu
- Environmental Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Kyoung Whan Choe
- Environmental Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.,Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Andrew J Stier
- Environmental Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Marc G Berman
- Environmental Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.,Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.,The Neuroscience Institute, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
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15
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Movement characteristics impact decision-making and vice versa. Sci Rep 2023; 13:3281. [PMID: 36841847 PMCID: PMC9968293 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-30325-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 02/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous studies suggest that humans are capable of coregulating the speed of decisions and movements if promoted by task incentives. It is unclear however whether such behavior is inherent to the process of translating decisional information into movements, beyond posing a valid strategy in some task contexts. Therefore, in a behavioral online study we imposed time constraints to either decision- or movement phases of a sensorimotor task, ensuring that coregulating decisions and movements was not promoted by task incentives. We found that participants indeed moved faster when fast decisions were promoted and decided faster when subsequent finger tapping movements had to be executed swiftly. These results were further supported by drift diffusion modelling and inspection of psychophysical kernels: Sensorimotor delays related to initiating the finger tapping sequence were shorter in fast-decision as compared to slow-decision blocks. Likewise, the decisional speed-accuracy tradeoff shifted in favor of faster decisions in fast-tapping as compared to slow-tapping blocks. These findings suggest that decisions not only impact movement characteristics, but that properties of movement impact the time taken to decide. We interpret these behavioral results in the context of embodied decision-making, whereby shared neural mechanisms may modulate decisions and movements in a joint fashion.
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16
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Continuous cursor-captured conceptual competition: Investigating the spatiotemporal dynamics of spoken word comprehension. Mem Cognit 2023; 51:290-306. [PMID: 36180769 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-022-01358-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Semantically related concepts are coactivated during spoken word comprehension. Two internet-mediated cursor-tracking experiments examined the spatiotemporal dynamics of this coactivation. Participants viewed visual arrays containing images of a target (e.g., accordion) and a semantically related (e.g., banjo) or unrelated (e.g., plum) distractor whilst hearing the target word (e.g., "accordion"). Participants were tasked with moving their cursor from the bottom of the visual array to the target in one of the upper corners. In contrast to Experiment 1, the onset of stimulus presentation was triggered by cursor movement in Experiment 2. Across both experiments, temporal (e.g., RT) and spatial (e.g., AUC) measures revealed significantly greater attraction to images of semantically related compared with unrelated distractors. These results reveal that online cursor-tracking methods are sensitive to semantic competition and suitable for studying the activation of semantic knowledge during language comprehension.
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17
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Quétard B, Spatola N, Parris BA, Ferrand L, Augustinova M. A mouse-tracking study of the composite nature of the Stroop effect at the level of response execution. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0279036. [PMID: 36656875 PMCID: PMC9851562 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0279036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
By forcing selection into response execution processes, the present mouse-tracking study investigated whether the ongoing process of response selection in the colour-word Stroop task is influenced by conflict and facilitation at both the level of response and stimulus. Mouse-tracking measures including partial errors provided credible evidence that both response and semantic conflict (i.e., distinct constituents of interference) contribute to the overall Stroop interference effect even after a response has been initiated. This contribution was also observed for the overall facilitation effect (that was credibly decomposed into response and semantic components in response times but not in mouse deviation measures). These results run counter to the dominant single-stage response competition models that currently fail to explain: 1) the expression of Stroop effects in measures of response execution and; 2) the composite nature of both interference and facilitation. By showing that Stroop effects-originating from multiple levels of processing-can cascade into movement parameters, the present study revealed the potential overlap between selection and execution process. It therefore calls for further theoretical efforts to account for when, where and under what conditions Stroop effects originating from different loci are controlled.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boris Quétard
- Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS LAPSCO, Clermont-Ferrand, France
- Department of Brain and Cognition, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
| | - Nicolas Spatola
- Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS LAPSCO, Clermont-Ferrand, France
- Artimon Perspectives, Paris, France
| | | | - Ludovic Ferrand
- Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS LAPSCO, Clermont-Ferrand, France
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18
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Tuft SE, Incera S, MᶜLennan CT. Examining long-term repetition priming effects in spoken word recognition using computer mouse tracking. Front Psychol 2023; 13:1074784. [PMID: 36687990 PMCID: PMC9850077 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1074784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Language researchers in a variety of disciplines have used priming as a tool to investigate theoretical questions. In spoken word recognition, long-term repetition priming effects have been obtained across a number of behavioral tasks (e.g., lexical decision, shadowing). Repeated - primed - words are responded to more efficiently than new - unprimed - words. However, to our knowledge, long-term repetition priming effects have not been examined using computer mouse tracking, which would provide data regarding the time course of long-term repetition priming effects. Consequently, we compared participants' lexical decision responses using a computer mouse to primed and unprimed words. We predicted that participants would respond more efficiently to primed words compared to unprimed words. Indeed, across all of the dependent variables investigated (accuracy, reaction time, mouse trajectories) and across environments (in person, online), participants responded more efficiently to primed words than to unprimed words. We also performed additional exploratory analyses examining long-term repetition priming effects for nonwords. Across environments (in person, online), participants had more errors to primed nonwords than to unprimed nonwords, but there were no differences in reaction times and mouse trajectories. The current data demonstrating long-term repetition priming effects in mouse tracking are expected to motivate future investigations examining the time course of various long-term repetition priming effects for both words and nonwords.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha E. Tuft
- Language Research Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH, United States
| | - Sara Incera
- Multilingual Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY, United States
| | - Conor T. MᶜLennan
- Language Research Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH, United States,*Correspondence: Conor T. MᶜLennan,
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19
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Replacing vertical actions by mouse movements: a web-suited paradigm for investigating vertical spatial associations. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2023; 87:194-209. [PMID: 35132464 PMCID: PMC8821857 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-022-01650-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
The number of web-based studies in experimental psychology has been growing tremendously throughout the last few years. However, a straightforward web-based implementation does not exist for all types of experimental paradigms. In the current paper, we focus on how vertical response movements-which play a crucial role in spatial cognition and language research-can be translated into a web-based setup. Specifically, we introduce a web-suited counterpart of the vertical Stroop task (e.g., Fox & Shor, in Bull Psychon Soc 7:187-189, 1976; Lachmair et al., in Psychon Bull Rev 18:1180-1188, 2011; Thornton et al., in J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 39:964-973, 2013). We employed nouns referring to entities typically located in lower or upper vertical space (e.g., "worm" and "bird", respectively) in Experiments 1 and 2, and emotional valence words associated with a crouched or an upward bodily posture (e.g., "sadness" and "excitement", respectively) in Experiment 3. Depending on the font color, our participants used their mouse to drag the words to the lower or upper screen location. Across all experiments, we consistently observed congruency effects analogous to those obtained with the lab paradigm using actual vertical arm movements. Consequently, we conclude that our web-suited paradigm establishes a reliable approach to examining vertical spatial associations.
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20
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March DS. Perceiving a Danger Within: Black Americans Associate Black Men With Physical Threat. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PERSONALITY SCIENCE 2022. [DOI: 10.1177/19485506221142970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Recent work suggests that good/bad out-group favoritism of Blacks for Whites may reflect positive associations with White rather than negative associations with Black. The Dual Implicit Process Model suggests that Blacks may come to associate their own group with threat, even absent a concurrent Black-negative association. This work tests this idea among Black Americans. Three studies tested this possibility using mouse-tracking (Study 1) and evaluative priming tasks (Studies 2 and 3) to assess how quickly participants make judgments involving Black versus White male faces and names. All studies found that that Black Americans hold automatic Black-threat associations absent automatic Black-negative associations. This supports the Dual Implicit Process Model’s threat versus negativity distinction within the realm of anti-Black bias and supplements recent work by showing that the presence of out-group favoritism on one dimension (i.e., threat) can occur even in the absence of out-group favoritism on a seemingly related dimension (i.e., negativity).
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21
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Lowry M, Trivedi N, Boyd P, Julian A, Treviño M, Lama Y, Heley K, Perna F. Making decisions about health information on social media: a mouse-tracking study. Cogn Res Princ Implic 2022; 7:68. [PMID: 35867169 PMCID: PMC9306418 DOI: 10.1186/s41235-022-00414-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 06/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Health misinformation is a problem on social media, and more understanding is needed about how users cognitively process it. In this study, participants’ accuracy in determining whether 60 health claims were true (e.g., “Vaccines prevent disease outbreaks”) or false (e.g., “Vaccines cause disease outbreaks”) was assessed. The 60 claims were related to three domains of health risk behavior (i.e., smoking, alcohol and vaccines). Claims were presented as Tweets or as simple text statements. We employed mouse tracking to measure reaction times, whether processing happens in discrete stages, and response uncertainty. We also examined whether health literacy was a moderating variable. The results indicate that information in statements and tweets is evaluated incrementally most of the time, but with overrides happening on some trials. Adequate health literacy scorers were equally certain when responding to tweets and statements, but they were more accurate when responding to tweets. Inadequate scorers were more confident on statements than on tweets but equally accurate on both. These results have important implications for understanding the underlying cognition needed to combat health misinformation online.
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22
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Moving beyond response times with accessible measures of manual dynamics. Sci Rep 2022; 12:19065. [PMID: 36351962 PMCID: PMC9646795 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-20579-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2021] [Accepted: 09/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Button-press measures of response time (RT) and accuracy have long served a central role in psychological research. However, RT and accuracy provide limited insight into how cognitive processes unfold over time. To address this limitation, researchers have used hand-tracking techniques to investigate how cognitive processes unfold over the course of a response, are modulated by recent experience, and function across the lifespan. Despite the efficacy of these techniques for investigating a wide range of psychological phenomena, widespread adoption of hand-tracking techniques within the field is hindered by a range of factors, including equipment costs and the use of specialized software. Here, we demonstrate that the behavioral dynamics previously observed with specialized motion-tracking equipment in an Eriksen flanker task can be captured with an affordable, portable, and easy-to-assemble response box. Six-to-eight-year-olds and adults (N = 90) completed a computerized version of the flanker task by pressing and holding a central button until a stimulus array appeared. Participants then responded by releasing the central button and reaching to press one of two response buttons. This method allowed RT to be separated into initiation time (when the central button was released) and movement time (time elapsed between initiation and completion of the response). Consistent with previous research using motion-tracking techniques, initiation times and movement times revealed distinct patterns of effects across trials and between age groups, indicating that the method used in the current study presents a simple solution for researchers from across the psychological and brain sciences looking to move beyond RTs.
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23
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Gatti D, Marelli M, Mazzoni G, Vecchi T, Rinaldi L. Hands-on false memories: a combined study with distributional semantics and mouse-tracking. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2022; 87:1129-1142. [PMID: 35849179 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-022-01710-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Although mouse-tracking has been seen as a real-time window into different aspects of human decision-making processes, currently little is known about how the decision process unfolds in veridical and false memory retrieval. Here, we directly investigated decision-making processes by predicting participants' performance in a mouse-tracking version of a typical Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) task through distributional semantic models, a usage-based approach to meaning. Participants were required to study lists of associated words and then to perform a recognition task with the mouse. Results showed that mouse trajectories were extensively affected by the semantic similarity between the words presented in the recognition phase and the ones previously studied. In particular, the higher the semantic similarity, the larger the conflict driving the choice and the higher the irregularity in the trajectory when correctly rejecting new words (i.e., the false memory items). Conversely, on the temporal evolution of the decision, our results showed that semantic similarity affects more complex temporal measures indexing the online decision processes subserving task performance. Together, these findings demonstrate that semantic similarity can affect human behavior at the level of motor control, testifying its influence on online decision-making processes. More generally, our findings complement previous seminal theories on false memory and provide insights into the impact of the semantic memory structure on different decision-making components.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniele Gatti
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Piazza Botta 6, 27100, Pavia, Italy.
| | - Marco Marelli
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.,NeuroMI, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Milan, Italy
| | - Giuliana Mazzoni
- Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University La Sapienza, Rome, Italy.,School of Life Sciences, University of Hull, Hull, UK
| | - Tomaso Vecchi
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Piazza Botta 6, 27100, Pavia, Italy.,Cognitive Psychology Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Luca Rinaldi
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Piazza Botta 6, 27100, Pavia, Italy.,Cognitive Psychology Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
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24
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Boschet JM, Scherbaum S, Pittig A. Costly avoidance of Pavlovian fear stimuli and the temporal dynamics of its decision process. Sci Rep 2022; 12:6576. [PMID: 35449167 PMCID: PMC9023480 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-09931-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Conflicts between avoiding feared stimuli versus approaching them for competing rewards are essential for functional behavior and anxious psychopathology. Yet, little is known about the underlying decision process. We examined approach-avoidance decisions and their temporal dynamics when avoiding Pavlovian fear stimuli conflicted with gaining rewards. First, a formerly neutral stimulus (CS+) was repeatedly paired with an aversive stimulus (US) to establish Pavlovian fear. Another stimulus (CS−) was never paired with the US. A control group received neutral tones instead of aversive USs. Next, in each of 324 trials, participants chose between a CS−/low reward and a CS+/high reward option. For the latter, probability of CS+ presentation (Pavlovian fear information) and reward magnitude (reward information) varied. Computer mouse movements were tracked to capture the decision dynamics. Although no more USs occurred, pronounced and persistent costly avoidance of the Pavlovian fear CS+ was found. Time-continuous multiple regression of movement trajectories revealed a stronger and faster impact of Pavlovian fear compared to reward information during decision-making. The impact of fear information, but not reward information, modestly decreased across trials. These findings suggest a persistently stronger weighting of fear compared to reward information during approach-avoidance decisions, which may facilitate the development of pathological avoidance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliane M Boschet
- Department of Psychology (Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy), University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Stefan Scherbaum
- Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Andre Pittig
- Department of Psychology (Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy), University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany. .,Translational Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Erlangen, Germany.
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25
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Learning to judge a book by its cover: Rapid acquisition of facial stereotypes. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2021.104225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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26
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Sangati E, Slors M, Müller BCN, van Rooij I. Joint Simon effect in movement trajectories. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0261735. [PMID: 34965256 PMCID: PMC8716062 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2021] [Accepted: 12/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
In joint action literature it is often assumed that acting together is driven by pervasive and automatic process of co-representation, that is, representing the co-actor's part of the task in addition to one's own. Much of this research employs joint stimulus-response compatibility tasks varying the stimuli employed or the physical and social relations between participants. In this study we test the robustness of co-representation effects by focusing instead on variation in response modality. Specifically, we implement a mouse-tracking version of a Joint Simon Task in which participants respond by producing continuous movements with a computer mouse rather than pushing discrete buttons. We have three key findings. First, in a replication of an earlier study we show that in a classical individual Simon Task movement trajectories show greater curvature on incongruent trials, paralleling longer response times. Second, this effect largely disappears in a Go-NoGo Simon Task, in which participants respond to only one of the cues and refrain from responding to the other. Third, contrary to previous studies that use button pressing responses, we observe no overall effect in the joint variants of the task. However, we also detect a notable diversity in movement strategies adopted by the participants, with some participants showing the effect on the individual level. Our study casts doubt on the pervasiveness of co-representation, highlights the usefulness of mouse-tracking methodology and emphasizes the need for looking at individual variation in task performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ekaterina Sangati
- Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- * E-mail:
| | - Marc Slors
- Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Barbara C. N. Müller
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Iris van Rooij
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour Centre for Cognition, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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27
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Ozbagci D, Moreno-Bote R, Soto-Faraco S. The dynamics of decision-making and action during active sampling. Sci Rep 2021; 11:23067. [PMID: 34845299 PMCID: PMC8630054 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02595-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 11/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Embodied Cognition Theories (ECTs) of decision-making propose that the decision process pervades the execution of choice actions and manifests itself in these actions. Decision-making scenarios where actions not only express the choice but also help sample information can provide a valuable, ecologically relevant model for this framework. We present a study to address this paradigmatic situation in humans. Subjects categorized (2AFC task) a central object image, blurred to different extents, by moving a cursor toward the left or right of the display. Upward cursor movements reduced the image blur and could be used to sample information. Thus, actions for decision and actions for sampling were orthogonal to each other. We analyzed response trajectories to test whether information-sampling movements co-occurred with the ongoing decision process. Trajectories were bimodally distributed, with one kind being direct towards one response option (non-sampling), and the other kind containing an initial upward component before veering off towards an option (sampling). This implies that there was an initial decision at the early stage of a trial, whether to sample information or not. Importantly, in sampling trials trajectories were not purely upward, but rather had a significant horizontal deviation early on. This result suggests that movements to sample information exhibit an online interaction with the decision process, therefore supporting the prediction of the ECTs under ecologically relevant constrains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Duygu Ozbagci
- Center for Brain and Cognition and Department of Information and Communications Technologies, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Ruben Moreno-Bote
- Center for Brain and Cognition and Department of Information and Communications Technologies, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Salvador Soto-Faraco
- Center for Brain and Cognition and Department of Information and Communications Technologies, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain.,Institut Català de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
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28
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Murray T, O'Brien J, Sagiv N, Garrido L. The role of stimulus-based cues and conceptual information in processing facial expressions of emotion. Cortex 2021; 144:109-132. [PMID: 34666297 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.08.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2020] [Revised: 07/16/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Face shape and surface textures are two important cues that aid in the perception of facial expressions of emotion. Additionally, this perception is also influenced by high-level emotion concepts. Across two studies, we use representational similarity analysis to investigate the relative roles of shape, surface, and conceptual information in the perception, categorisation, and neural representation of facial expressions. In Study 1, 50 participants completed a perceptual task designed to measure the perceptual similarity of expression pairs, and a categorical task designed to measure the confusability between expression pairs when assigning emotion labels to a face. We used representational similarity analysis and constructed three models of the similarities between emotions using distinct information. Two models were based on stimulus-based cues (face shapes and surface textures) and one model was based on emotion concepts. Using multiple linear regression, we found that behaviour during both tasks was related with the similarity of emotion concepts. The model based on face shapes was more related with behaviour in the perceptual task than in the categorical, and the model based on surface textures was more related with behaviour in the categorical than the perceptual task. In Study 2, 30 participants viewed facial expressions while undergoing fMRI, allowing for the measurement of brain representational geometries of facial expressions of emotion in three core face-responsive regions (the Fusiform Face Area, Occipital Face Area, and Superior Temporal Sulcus), and a region involved in theory of mind (Medial Prefrontal Cortex). Across all four regions, the representational distances between facial expression pairs were related to the similarities of emotion concepts, but not to either of the stimulus-based cues. Together, these results highlight the important top-down influence of high-level emotion concepts both in behavioural tasks and in the neural representation of facial expressions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Murray
- Psychology Department, School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University London, United Kingdom.
| | - Justin O'Brien
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Life Sciences, Brunel University London, United Kingdom
| | - Noam Sagiv
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Life Sciences, Brunel University London, United Kingdom
| | - Lúcia Garrido
- Department of Psychology, City, University of London, United Kingdom
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29
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Leontyev A, Yamauchi T. Discerning Mouse Trajectory Features With the Drift Diffusion Model. Cogn Sci 2021; 45:e13046. [PMID: 34606113 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.13046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2020] [Revised: 06/28/2021] [Accepted: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Mouse tracking, a new action-based measure of behavior, has advanced theories of decision making with the notion that cognitive and social decision making is fundamentally dynamic. Implicit in this theory is that people's decision strategies, such as discounting delayed rewards, are stable over task design and that mouse trajectory features correspond to specific segments of decision making. By applying the hierarchical drift diffusion model and the Bayesian delay discounting model, we tested these assumptions. Specifically, we investigated the extent to which the "mouse-tracking" design of decision-making tasks (delay discounting task, DDT and stop-signal task, SST) deviate from the standard "keypress" design of decision making tasks. We found remarkable agreement in delay discounting rates (intertemporal impatience) obtained in the keypress and mouse-tracking versions of DDT (ρ = 0.90) even though these tasks were given about 1 week apart. Rates of evidence accumulation converged well in the two versions (DDT, ρ = .86; SST, ρ = .55). Omission/commission error in SST showed high agreement (ρ = .42, ρ = .53). Mouse-motion features such as maximum velocity and AUC (area under the curve) correlated well with nondecision time (ρ = -.42) and boundary separation (ρ = .44)-the amount of information needed to accumulate prior to making a response. These results indicate that the response time (RT) and motion-based decision tasks converge well at a fundamental level, and that mouse-tracking features such as AUC and maximum velocity do indicate the degree of decision conflict and impulsivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anton Leontyev
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University
| | - Takashi Yamauchi
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University
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30
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Korb S, Deniz TC, Ünal B, Clarke A, Silani G. Emotion perception bias associated with the hijab in Austrian and Turkish participants. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2021; 75:796-807. [PMID: 34507515 PMCID: PMC8958558 DOI: 10.1177/17470218211048317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
In a cross-cultural study, we investigated the link between explicit attitudes towards the hijab and implicit measures of cultural and religious bias during the recognition of emotions. Participants tested in Austria (N = 71) and in Turkey (N = 70) reported their attitude towards the hijab, and categorised in a mousetracker task happy and sad faces of women, shown with five levels of intensity, and framed either by a hijab or by an oval-shaped mask. The two samples did not differ in their explicit attitudes towards the hijab. However, negative attitude towards the hijab predicted greater sadness attribution to happy faces with the hijab in Austrian participants. Unrelated to their explicit attitudes, Turkish participants attributed more sadness to happy faces with than without the hijab. Results suggest that the sight of the hijab activated, in both Austrian and Turkish participants, implicit biases resulting in associations with sadness and negative emotions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Korb
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, UK
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, University of Vienna, Wien, Austria
- Sebastian Korb, Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK.
| | - Tugba Ceren Deniz
- Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology, TED University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Bengi Ünal
- Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology, TED University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Alasdair Clarke
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, UK
| | - Giorgia Silani
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Vienna, Wien, Austria
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31
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Erb CD, Moher J, Marcovitch S. Attentional capture in goal-directed action during childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. J Exp Child Psychol 2021; 214:105273. [PMID: 34509699 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2021.105273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2021] [Revised: 07/29/2021] [Accepted: 07/29/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Attentional capture occurs when salient but task-irrelevant information disrupts our ability to respond to task-relevant information. Although attentional capture costs have been found to decrease between childhood and adulthood, it is currently unclear the extent to which such age-related changes reflect an improved ability to recover from attentional capture or to avoid attentional capture. In addition, recent research using hand-tracking techniques with adults indicates that attentional capture by a distractor can generate response activations corresponding to the distractor's location, consistent with action-centered models of attention. However, it is unknown whether attentional capture can also result in the capture of action in children and adolescents. Therefore, we presented 5-year-olds, 9-year-olds, 13- and 14-year-olds, and adults (N = 96) with a singleton search task in which participants responded by reaching to touch targets on a digital display. Consistent with action-centered models of attention, distractor effects were evident in each age group's movement trajectories. In contrast to movement trajectories, movement times revealed significant age-related reductions in the costs of attentional capture, suggesting that age-related improvements in attentional control may be driven in part by an enhanced ability to recover from-as opposed to avoid-attentional capture. Children's performance was also significantly affected by response repetition effects, indicating that children may be more susceptible to interference from a wider range of task-irrelevant factors than adults. In addition to presenting novel insights into the development of attention and action, these results highlight the benefits of incorporating hand-tracking techniques into developmental research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher D Erb
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand.
| | - Jeff Moher
- Department of Psychology, Connecticut College, New London, CT 06320, USA
| | - Stuart Marcovitch
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27412, USA
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32
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Oh D, Walker M, Freeman JB. Person knowledge shapes face identity perception. Cognition 2021; 217:104889. [PMID: 34464913 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2021.104889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Revised: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Recognition of others' identity through facial features is essential in life. Using both correlational and experimental approaches, we examined how person knowledge biases the perception of others' facial identity. When a participant believed any two individuals were more similar in personality, their faces were perceived to be correspondingly more similar (assessed via mousetracking, Study 1). Further, participants' facial representations of target individuals that were believed to have a more similar personality were found to have a greater physical resemblance (assessed via reverse-correlation, Studies 2 and 3). Finally, when participants learned about novel individuals who had a more similar personality, their faces were visually represented more similarly (Study 4). Together, the findings show that the perception of facial identity is driven not only by facial features but also the person knowledge we have learned about others, biasing it toward alternate identities despite the fact that those identities lack any physical resemblance.
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Brooks JA, Stolier RM, Freeman JB. Computational approaches to the neuroscience of social perception. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 16:827-837. [PMID: 32986115 PMCID: PMC8343569 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaa127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2019] [Revised: 07/23/2020] [Accepted: 09/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Across multiple domains of social perception-including social categorization, emotion perception, impression formation and mentalizing-multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data has permitted a more detailed understanding of how social information is processed and represented in the brain. As in other neuroimaging fields, the neuroscientific study of social perception initially relied on broad structure-function associations derived from univariate fMRI analysis to map neural regions involved in these processes. In this review, we trace the ways that social neuroscience studies using MVPA have built on these neuroanatomical associations to better characterize the computational relevance of different brain regions, and discuss how MVPA allows explicit tests of the correspondence between psychological models and the neural representation of social information. We also describe current and future advances in methodological approaches to multivariate fMRI data and their theoretical value for the neuroscience of social perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey A Brooks
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ryan M Stolier
- Columbia University, 1190 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10027, USA
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Instruction in second language enhances linguistic and cognitive abilities in first language as well: evidence from public school education in Nepal. JOURNAL OF CULTURAL COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s41809-021-00084-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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35
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Rahayu SA, Widianto S, Defi IR, Abdulah R. Role of Pharmacists in the Interprofessional Care Team for Patients with Chronic Diseases. J Multidiscip Healthc 2021; 14:1701-1710. [PMID: 34267522 PMCID: PMC8275864 DOI: 10.2147/jmdh.s309938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic diseases are a major health problem and cause of death worldwide. Patients with chronic diseases should be managed by an interprofessional care team consisting of general practitioners, medical specialists, nurses, and pharmacists. However, the roles of pharmacists in this interprofessional care team have not been fully explored. This study, therefore, examined their roles as members of the interprofessional care team in managing patients with chronic diseases. A search in PubMed, Google Scholar, EBSCO, Scopus, and Cochrane Library databases was conducted for research articles that discussed pharmacists, interprofessional healthcare, and chronic diseases. From initial 420 identified articles, a total of 27 articles were included in this study. The interprofessional healthcare team should have a sense of tolerance and belonging among its members, which is reflected in five dimensions: partnership, coordination, cooperation, decision-making, and therapeutic outcomes. The five dimensions are closely related because they support each other in the success of the therapy. The presence of pharmacists in an interprofessional healthcare team has been proven to help facilitate access to primary care and improve patient outcomes. Pharmacists can assist in managing chronic disease conditions by providing drug information to patients and other healthcare providers and by acting as a consultant for treatment-related issues. The pharmacist’s role as part of an interprofessional care team reinforces the importance of a collaborative healthcare team in providing clinical services to patients with chronic diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susi Afrianti Rahayu
- Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Padjadjaran, Jatinangor, Indonesia.,Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Bumi Siliwangi College of Pharmacy, Bandung, Indonesia
| | - Sunu Widianto
- Department of Management and Business, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Padjadjaran, Jatinangor, Indonesia
| | - Irma Ruslina Defi
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran, Jatinangor, Indonesia.,Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Hasan Sadikin Hospital, Bandung, Indonesia
| | - Rizky Abdulah
- Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Padjadjaran, Jatinangor, Indonesia.,Center for Excellence in Higher Education for Pharmaceutical Care Innovation, Universitas Padjadjaran, Jatinangor, Indonesia
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36
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A method for estimating the time of initiating correct categorization in mouse-tracking. Behav Res Methods 2021; 53:2439-2449. [PMID: 33846966 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-021-01575-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Mouse-tracking facilitates exploration of the mental processes underlying decision-making. As the cognitive system works to settle on a decision, response competition manifests in the motor movements of the hand, bringing the mouse relatively closer to one alternative versus the other. Many metrics provide insight into decision-making processes by indexing the shape or complexity of the mouse trajectory. Lacking, however, is a metric that estimates the point in time when a participant begins to correctly categorize a stimulus. We rectify this absence by introducing a metric we refer to as time of initiating correct categorization (TICC), which is the point in time when people began moving relatively closer to the selected target relative to the distractor. We briefly review existing approaches to measuring time in mouse-tracking before describing the TICC and demonstrating its utility in three data sets.
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37
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Tracking stress via the computer mouse? Promises and challenges of a potential behavioral stress marker. Behav Res Methods 2021; 53:2281-2301. [PMID: 33821457 PMCID: PMC8613085 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-021-01568-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Computer mouse tracking offers a simple and cost-efficient way to gather continuous behavioral data and has mostly been utilized in psychological science to study cognitive processes. The present study extends the potential applicability of computer mouse tracking and investigates the feasibility of using computer mouse tracking for stress measurement. Drawing on first empirical results and theoretical considerations, we hypothesized that stress affects sensorimotor processes involved in mouse usage. To explore the relationship between stress and computer mouse usage, we conducted a between-participant field experiment in which N = 994 participants worked on four mouse tasks in a high-stress or low-stress condition. In the manipulation check, participants reported different stress levels between the two conditions. However, frequentist and machine learning data analysis approaches did not reveal a clear and systematic relationship between mouse usage and stress. These findings challenge the feasibility of using straightforward computer mouse tracking for generalized stress measurement.
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38
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Hepp J, Kieslich PJ, Wycoff AM, Bertsch K, Schmahl C, Niedtfeld I. Mouse-tracking reveals cognitive conflict during negative impression formation in women with Borderline Personality Disorder or Social Anxiety Disorder. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0247955. [PMID: 33662030 PMCID: PMC7932102 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0247955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2020] [Accepted: 02/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) or Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) suffer from substantial interpersonal dysfunction and have difficulties establishing social bonds. A tendency to form negative first impressions of others could contribute to this by way of reducing approach behavior. We tested whether women with BPD or SAD would show negative impression formation compared to healthy women (HCs). We employed the Thin Slices paradigm and showed videos of 52 authentic target participants to 32 women with BPD, 29 women with SAD, and 37 HCs. We asked participants to evaluate whether different positive or negative adjectives described targets and expected BPD raters to provide the most negative ratings, followed by SAD and HC. BPD and SAD raters both agreed with negative adjectives more often than HCs (e.g., ‘Yes, the person is greedy’), and BPD raters rejected positive adjectives more often (e.g., ‘No, the person is not humble.’). However, BPD and SAD raters did not differ significantly from each other. Additionally, we used the novel process tracing method mouse-tracking to assess the cognitive conflict (via trajectory deviations) raters experienced during decision-making. We hypothesized that HCs would experience more conflict when making unfavorable (versus favorable) evaluations and that this pattern would flip in BPD and SAD. We quantified cognitive conflict via maximum absolute deviations (MADs) of the mouse-trajectories. As hypothesized, HCs showed more conflict when rejecting versus agreeing with positive adjectives. The pattern did not flip in BPD and SAD but was substantially reduced, such that BPD and SAD showed similar levels of conflict when rejecting and agreeing with positive adjectives. Contrary to the hypothesis for BPD and SAD, all three groups experienced substantial conflict when agreeing with negative adjectives. We discuss therapeutic implications of the combined choice and mouse-tracking results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanna Hepp
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Pascal J Kieslich
- Department of Psychology & Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES), School of Social Sciences, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Andrea M Wycoff
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States of America
| | - Katja Bertsch
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Christian Schmahl
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Inga Niedtfeld
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
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39
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Barnett BO, Brooks JA, Freeman JB. Stereotypes bias face perception via orbitofrontal-fusiform cortical interaction. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 16:302-314. [PMID: 33270131 PMCID: PMC7943359 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaa165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2020] [Revised: 11/11/2020] [Accepted: 12/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous research has shown that social-conceptual associations, such as stereotypes, can influence the visual representation of faces and neural pattern responses in ventral temporal cortex (VTC) regions, such as the fusiform gyrus (FG). Current models suggest that this social-conceptual impact requires medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) feedback signals during perception. Backward masking can disrupt such signals, as it is a technique known to reduce functional connectivity between VTC regions and regions outside VTC. During functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), subjects passively viewed masked and unmasked faces, and following the scan, perceptual biases and stereotypical associations were assessed. Multi-voxel representations of faces across the VTC, and in the FG and mOFC, reflected stereotypically biased perceptions when faces were unmasked, but this effect was abolished when faces were masked. However, the VTC still retained the ability to process masked faces and was sensitive to their categorical distinctions. Functional connectivity analyses confirmed that masking disrupted mOFC-FG connectivity, which predicted a reduced impact of stereotypical associations in the FG. Taken together, our findings suggest that the biasing of face representations in line with stereotypical associations does not arise from intrinsic processing within the VTC and FG alone, but instead it depends in part on top-down feedback from the mOFC during perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin O Barnett
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Jeffrey A Brooks
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Jonathan B Freeman
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
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40
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Melnikoff DE, Mann TC, Stillman PE, Shen X, Ferguson MJ. Tracking Prejudice: A Mouse-Tracking Measure of Evaluative Conflict Predicts Discriminatory Behavior. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PERSONALITY SCIENCE 2021. [DOI: 10.1177/1948550619900574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Explicit evaluations of racial out-groups often involve conflict between opposing evaluative tendencies. Yet this type of conflict is difficult to capture with standard measures of evaluative processing, which either ignore explicit evaluation or capture only the aspects of explicit evaluation that are consciously accessible and freely reported. A new tool may fill this gap in our ability to measure conflict in racial evaluation. This tool, called the mouse-tracking measure of racial bias (Race-MT), is designed to capture conflict in explicit evaluations of racial groups, even if that conflict is neither consciously accessible nor freely reported. We vetted the Race-MT by exploring whether it predicts discriminatory behavior. Across five studies (four preregistered, N = 1,492), we used the Race-MT to measure conflict in people’s positive, explicit evaluations of racial out-groups versus in-groups. These measures predicted discriminatory behavior in a noisy, naturalistic setting, suggesting that the Race-MT provides theoretically meaningful and predicatively useful insights into racial evaluation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Thomas C. Mann
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Xi Shen
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
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41
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Mormann M, Russo JE. Does Attention Increase the Value of Choice Alternatives? Trends Cogn Sci 2021; 25:305-315. [PMID: 33549495 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2021.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2020] [Revised: 01/10/2021] [Accepted: 01/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
A growing recognition of the role of attention in decision-making has been driven by both the technology of eye tracking and the development of models that explicitly incorporate attention. One result of this convergence is the arresting claim that attention, by itself, can increase the perceived value of a decision alternative. In this review, we cover the origins of that claim, its empirical foundation, and the reasoning that supports it. The conclusion is that, to date, there is not sufficient evidence to support the claim. Alternative explanations for the extant evidentiary base are discussed, as is the balance between the bottom-up influence of empirical evidence and the top-down commitment to a conceptual framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milica Mormann
- Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75205, USA.
| | - J Edward Russo
- S.C. Johnson College of Business, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
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42
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Abstract
Everyday social interactions hinge on our ability to resolve uncertainty in nonverbal cues. For example, although some facial expressions (e.g. happy, angry) convey a clear affective meaning, others (e.g. surprise) are ambiguous, in that their meaning is determined by the context. Here, we used mouse-tracking to examine the underlying process of resolving uncertainty. Previous work has suggested an initial negativity, in part via faster response times for negative than positive ratings of surprise. We examined valence categorizations of filtered images in order to compare faster (low spatial frequencies; LSF) versus more deliberate processing (high spatial frequencies; HSF). When participants categorised faces as "positive", they first exhibited a partial attraction toward the competing ("negative") response option, and this effect was exacerbated for HSF than LSF faces. Thus, the effect of response conflict due to an initial negativity bias was exaggerated for HSF faces, likely because these images allow for greater deliberation than the LSFs. These results are consistent with the notion that more positive categorizations are characterised by an initial attraction to a default, negative response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maital Neta
- Department of Psychology and Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
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43
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Using mouse cursor tracking to investigate online cognition: Preserving methodological ingenuity while moving toward reproducible science. Psychon Bull Rev 2020; 28:766-787. [PMID: 33319317 PMCID: PMC8219569 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-020-01851-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Mouse cursor tracking has become a prominent method for characterizing cognitive processes, used in a wide variety of domains of psychological science. Researchers have demonstrated considerable ingenuity in the application of the approach, but the methodology has not undergone systematic analysis to facilitate the development of best practices. Furthermore, recent research has demonstrated effects of experimental design features on a number of mousetracking outcomes. We conducted a systematic review of the mouse-tracking literature to survey the reporting and spread of mouse variables (Cursor speed, Sampling rate, Training), physical characteristics of the experiments (Stimulus position, Response box position) and response requirements (Start procedure, Response procedure, Response deadline). This survey reveals that there is room for improvement in reporting practices, especially of subtler design features that researchers may have assumed would not impact research results (e.g., Cursor speed). We provide recommendations for future best practices in mouse-tracking studies and consider how best to standardize the mouse-tracking literature without excessively constraining the methodological flexibility that is essential to the field.
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44
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Using dynamic monitoring of choices to predict and understand risk preferences. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:31738-31747. [PMID: 33234567 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2010056117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Navigating conflict is integral to decision-making, serving a central role both in the subjective experience of choice as well as contemporary theories of how we choose. However, the lack of a sensitive, accessible, and interpretable metric of conflict has led researchers to focus on choice itself rather than how individuals arrive at that choice. Using mouse-tracking-continuously sampling computer mouse location as participants decide-we demonstrate the theoretical and practical uses of dynamic assessments of choice from decision onset through conclusion. Specifically, we use mouse tracking to index conflict, quantified by the relative directness to the chosen option, in a domain for which conflict is integral: decisions involving risk. In deciding whether to accept risk, decision makers must integrate gains, losses, status quos, and outcome probabilities, a process that inevitably involves conflict. Across three preregistered studies, we tracked participants' motor movements while they decided whether to accept or reject gambles. Our results show that 1) mouse-tracking metrics of conflict sensitively detect differences in the subjective value of risky versus certain options; 2) these metrics of conflict strongly predict participants' risk preferences (loss aversion and decreasing marginal utility), even on a single-trial level; 3) these mouse-tracking metrics outperform participants' reaction times in predicting risk preferences; and 4) manipulating risk preferences via a broad versus narrow bracketing manipulation influences conflict as indexed by mouse tracking. Together, these results highlight the importance of measuring conflict during risky choice and demonstrate the usefulness of mouse tracking as a tool to do so.
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45
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Briscoe J, Gilchrist ID. Proactive and reactive control mechanisms in navigational search. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2020; 75:348-361. [PMID: 32988298 PMCID: PMC8721537 DOI: 10.1177/1747021820958923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Reactive and proactive cognitive control are fundamental for guiding complex human behaviour. In two experiments, we evaluated the role of both types of cognitive control in navigational search. Participants searched for a single hidden target in a floor array where the salience at the search locations varied (flashing or static lights). An a-priori rule of the probable location of the target (either under a static or a flashing light) was provided at the start of each experiment. Both experiments demonstrated a bias towards rule-adherent locations. Search errors, measured as revisits, were more likely to occur under the flashing rule for searching flashing locations, regardless of the salience of target location in Experiment 1 and at rule-congruent (flashing) locations in Experiment 2. Consistent with dual mechanisms of control, rule-adherent search was explained by engaging proactive control to guide goal-maintained search behaviour and by engaging reactive control to avoid revisits to salient (flashing) locations. Experiment 2 provided direct evidence for dual mechanisms of control using a Dot Pattern Expectancy task to distinguish the dominant control mode for a participant. Participants with a reactive control mode generated more revisits to salient (flashing) locations. These data point to complementary roles for proactive and reactive control in guiding navigational search and propose a novel framework for interpreting navigational search.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josie Briscoe
- School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Iain D Gilchrist
- School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
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46
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Benedetti V, Gavazzi G, Giovannelli F, Bravi R, Giganti F, Minciacchi D, Mascalchi M, Cincotta M, Viggiano MP. Mouse Tracking to Explore Motor Inhibition Processes in Go/No-Go and Stop Signal Tasks. Brain Sci 2020; 10:brainsci10070464. [PMID: 32698348 PMCID: PMC7408439 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10070464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2020] [Revised: 07/15/2020] [Accepted: 07/16/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Response inhibition relies on both proactive and reactive mechanisms that exert a synergic control on goal-directed actions. It is typically evaluated by the go/no-go (GNG) and the stop signal task (SST) with response recording based on the key-press method. However, the analysis of discrete variables (i.e., present or absent responses) registered by key-press could be insufficient to capture dynamic aspects of inhibitory control. Trying to overcome this limitation, in the present study we used a mouse tracking procedure to characterize movement profiles related to proactive and reactive inhibition. A total of fifty-three participants performed a cued GNG and an SST. The cued GNG mainly involves proactive control whereas the reactive component is mainly engaged in the SST. We evaluated the velocity profile from mouse trajectories both for responses obtained in the Go conditions and for inhibitory failures. Movements were classified as one-shot when no corrections were observed. Multi-peaked velocity profiles were classified as non-one-shot. A higher proportion of one-shot movements was found in the SST compared to the cued GNG when subjects failed to inhibit responses. This result suggests that proactive control may be responsible for unsmooth profiles in inhibition failures, supporting a differentiation between these tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viola Benedetti
- Section of Psychology—Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child’s Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, 50135 Florence, Italy; (V.B.); (F.G.); (F.G.)
| | | | - Fabio Giovannelli
- Section of Psychology—Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child’s Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, 50135 Florence, Italy; (V.B.); (F.G.); (F.G.)
| | - Riccardo Bravi
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, Italy; (R.B.); (D.M.)
| | - Fiorenza Giganti
- Section of Psychology—Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child’s Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, 50135 Florence, Italy; (V.B.); (F.G.); (F.G.)
| | - Diego Minciacchi
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, Italy; (R.B.); (D.M.)
| | - Mario Mascalchi
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences “Mario Serio”, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, Italy;
| | - Massimo Cincotta
- Unit of Neurology of Florence, Central Tuscany Local Health Authority, 50143 Florence, Italy;
| | - Maria Pia Viggiano
- Section of Psychology—Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child’s Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, 50135 Florence, Italy; (V.B.); (F.G.); (F.G.)
- Correspondence:
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47
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Mouse tracking reveals structure knowledge in the absence of model-based choice. Nat Commun 2020; 11:1893. [PMID: 32312966 PMCID: PMC7170897 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15696-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2019] [Accepted: 03/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Converging evidence has demonstrated that humans exhibit two distinct strategies when learning in complex environments. One is model-free learning, i.e., simple reinforcement of rewarded actions, and the other is model-based learning, which considers the structure of the environment. Recent work has argued that people exhibit little model-based behavior unless it leads to higher rewards. Here we use mouse tracking to study model-based learning in stochastic and deterministic (pattern-based) environments of varying difficulty. In both tasks participants’ mouse movements reveal that they learned the structures of their environments, despite the fact that standard behavior-based estimates suggested no such learning in the stochastic task. Thus, we argue that mouse tracking can reveal whether subjects have structure knowledge, which is necessary but not sufficient for model-based choice. Mouse tracking can reveal people’s subjective beliefs and whether they understand the structure of a task. These data demonstrate that people often do not use this information to make good choices.
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Calcagnì A, Lombardi L, D'Alessandro M, Freuli F. A State Space Approach to Dynamic Modeling of Mouse-Tracking Data. Front Psychol 2019; 10:2716. [PMID: 31920788 PMCID: PMC6928115 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2019] [Accepted: 11/18/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Mouse-tracking recording techniques are becoming very attractive in experimental psychology. They provide an effective means of enhancing the measurement of some real-time cognitive processes involved in categorization, decision-making, and lexical decision tasks. Mouse-tracking data are commonly analyzed using a two-step procedure which first summarizes individuals' hand trajectories with independent measures, and then applies standard statistical models on them. However, this approach can be problematic in many cases. In particular, it does not provide a direct way to capitalize the richness of hand movement variability within a consistent and unified representation. In this article we present a novel, unified framework for mouse-tracking data. Unlike standard approaches to mouse-tracking, our proposal uses stochastic state-space modeling to represent the observed trajectories in terms of both individual movement dynamics and experimental variables. The model is estimated via a Metropolis-Hastings algorithm coupled with a non-linear recursive filter. The characteristics and potentials of the proposed approach are illustrated using a lexical decision case study. The results highlighted how dynamic modeling of mouse-tracking data can considerably improve the analysis of mouse-tracking tasks and the conclusions researchers can draw from them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Calcagnì
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
- *Correspondence: Antonio Calcagnì
| | - Luigi Lombardi
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Marco D'Alessandro
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Francesca Freuli
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
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Dieciuc MA, Maranges HM, Boot WR. Trait self-control does not predict attentional control: Evidence from a novel attention capture paradigm. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0224882. [PMID: 31830063 PMCID: PMC6907807 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0224882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2019] [Accepted: 10/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
To what extent are low-level visual and attentional phenomena related to higher-level personality traits? Trait self-control is thought to modulate behavior via two separate mechanisms: 1) by preventing initial temptation and, 2) by inhibiting temptation when it occurs (disengagement). Similarly, the control of visual attention often entails preventing initial distraction by irrelevant but tempting (goal-similar) objects, and disengaging attention when it has been inappropriately captured. Given these similarities, we examined whether individuals higher versus lower in trait self-control would differ in their susceptibility to attention capture using mouse-tracking as a sensitive, online measure of how attentional dynamics resolve over time and space in response to a distracting visual cue. Using a variety of metrics of attention capture, we found that differences among people in trait self-control did not predict initial selection of visual information nor subsequent disengagement. Overall, these results suggest that trait self-control and attention capture operate via separate mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A. Dieciuc
- Florida State University Department of Psychology, Tallahassee, Florida, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Heather M. Maranges
- Florida State University Department of Psychology, Tallahassee, Florida, United States of America
| | - Walter R. Boot
- Florida State University Department of Psychology, Tallahassee, Florida, United States of America
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Dotan D, Pinheiro-Chagas P, Al Roumi F, Dehaene S. Track It to Crack It: Dissecting Processing Stages with Finger Tracking. Trends Cogn Sci 2019; 23:1058-1070. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2019.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2019] [Revised: 09/12/2019] [Accepted: 10/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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