The N2 component in a go-nogo learning task: Motivation, behavioral activation, and reasoning

Abstract

Although the association of the N2 component with behavioral inhibition (BIS) has regularly been investigated, its association with other personality characteristics remains widely unknown. We investigated the association of the N2 with the sensitivity of the behavioral activation system (BAS). The aim was not to show that the N2 is linked to trait BAS instead of trait BIS, but that a motivating setting may alter its association with those traits. Furthermore, we aimed at replicating results indicating that the association between reasoning ability and the N2 depends on the matching of the content of the reasoning tasks and the go-nogo task. The electroencephalogram (64 electrodes, P9/P10 offline reference, Biosemi) was recorded in a sample of 117 healthy participants (60 females; age: M = 24.79, SD = 3.98), who performed a numerical learning task. At the beginning of each trial, participants heard motivating or neutral words. Participants completed Carver and White's BIS/BAS scales (1994) and the Intelligence-Structure-Test 2000R (Liepmann et al., 2007). The N2 was identified by a temporospatial principal component analysis. Structural equation models revealed that higher trait BAS scores were associated with larger N2s especially when hearing motivating words. Solely higher numerical reasoning scores were associated with larger N2s in the neutral condition. Moreover, the interaction of trait BAS with verbal reasoning ability predicted an increased negativity of the N2 with time-on-task in the motivating condition, suggesting that motivating words yielded an increase of conflict monitoring with time-on-task for participants with higher verbal reasoning ability and higher trait BAS.