Error-monitoring across social and affective processing contexts

Abstract

The error-related negativity (ERN) is one of the most researched event-related potentials in the study of cognitive control, and it is thought to capture preconscious error-monitoring. ERN amplitude is known to be modulated by trait and state differences in affect, yet most ERN studies use ‘cold’ cognitive tasks that do not directly target affective processes involved in cognitive control. For example, speeded response-time tasks that elicit the ERN typically use neutral stimuli (e.g., letters, arrows), yet these paradigms are also flexible enough such that affective or social stimuli can readily be incorporated to target the role of affect in error-monitoring. In this project, the commonly-used arrow flanker task was modified to examine whether the expected behavioral and psychophysiological indices of error-monitoring would be observed using affective and social stimuli. Specifically, four different flanker tasks were administered using a within-subjects design with the following stimuli: arrows, neutral faces, unpleasant images, and pleasant images. Analyses indicated that the flanker tasks using arrows and faces elicited expected behavioral patterns (e.g., lower accuracy and slower reaction time on incongruent versus congruent trials) and ERN modulation by error versus correct trials. Although flanker tasks using unpleasant and pleasant stimuli also modulated the ERN, flanker effects on behavioral performance were not as consistent as the other tasks. Further, within incongruent trials, the ERN was larger when affective stimuli needed to be suppressed for a correct response. The correlations of the ERN and behavioral measures across tasks indicated some consistent individual differences in the ERN across tasks as well as substantial task-specific variances. This project lays the foundation for modifying classic error-monitoring tasks in a manner that may better target social and affective constructs that are of interest to clinical researchers.