Arrow Task Research Articles

Exploring the impact of stimulus-stimulus and stimulus-response conflicts on computer mouse trajectories: continuous flow of information from stimulus encoding to response preparation to motor action.

In recent years, mouse tracking (designing experiments in which participants provide responses via dynamic computer mouse movements) has enjoyed increasing experience in experimental psychology. Mouse-tracking studies typically involve some form of stimulus-response (S-R) conflict, and S-R effects emerge in movement trajectories (as well as in latencies). By contrast, it is currently unclear how stimulus-stimulus (S-S) compatibility affects movements. Here, we used a spatial arrow task which allowed us to generate S-R and S-S effects within the same experiment. Experiment 1 clarified in a key press experiment that this manipulation generates clear S-S and S-R effects in latencies. More critically, Experiment 2 demonstrated that both types of conflict impact mouse trajectories with incompatibility emerging as increased 'curvature' of responses when compared to congruent responses. We argue that these results are best explained via the assumption of 'continuous flow' of information, from stimulus encoding to response preparation and finally into motor action. By contrast, the S-S effect on trajectories contradicts the notion that processing is 'thresholded' between stimulus encoding and response preparation.

Causal influences of salience/cerebellar networks on dorsal attention network subserved age-related cognitive slowing

Age-related cognitive slowing is a prominent precursor of cognitive decline. Functional neuroimaging studies found that cognitive processing speed is associated with activation and coupling among frontal, parietal and cerebellar brain networks. However, how the reciprocal influences of inter- and intra-network coupling mediate age-related decline in processing speed remains insufficiently studied. This study examined how inter- and intra-brain network influences mediate age-related slowing. We were interested in the fronto-insular salience network (SN), frontoparietal dorsal attention network (DAN), cerebellar network (CN) and default mode network (DMN). Reaction time (RT) and functional MRI data from 84 participants (aged 18–75) were collected while they were performing the Arrow Task in visual or audial forms. At the subject level, effective connectivities (ECs) were estimated with regression dynamic causal modelling. At the group level, structural equation models (SEMs) were used to model latent speed based on age and the EC mediators. Age was associated with decreased speed and increased inter-network effective connectivity. The CN exerting influence on the DAN (CN → DAN EC) mediated, while the SN → DAN EC suppressed age-related slowing. The DMN and intra-network ECs did not seem to play significant roles in slowing due to ageing. Inter-network connectivity from the CN and SN to the DAN contributes to age-related slowing. The seemingly antagonizing influences of the CN and SN indicate that increased task-related automaticity and decreased effortful control on top-down attention would promote greater speed in older individuals.

Effects of non-driving related tasks on readiness to take over control in conditionally automated driving

Objective At conditionally automated driving, the driver can temporarily engage in non-driving related tasks (NDRTs). However, they must safely take over control when the automated driving system reaches its operation limit. Thus, understanding the effects of the NDRTs on driver take-over performance is essential. The present work investigates the effects of various NDRTs on motor readiness in take-over scenarios during conditionally automated driving. Methods Three driving simulator studies were conducted. 48, 49, and 22 participants were recruited in three experiments, respectively. The participants were distracted by different NDRTs (everyday task in Experiment 1, arrow task in Experiment 2, and SuRT in Experiment 3) on a tablet mounted in the vehicle. The everyday task included reading the news and watching a video, and the arrow task included a set of arrow matrices presented to the participants in sequence. The time budgets in Experiment 1 included 3 s, 4 s, and 5 s, and the time budgets in Experiment 2 and 3 included 5 s and 7 s. A take-over request (TOR) warning was issued in the automated driving condition when the participants encountered a broken-down car in front. The participants must regain control of the vehicle with the given time budget. The hands-on time was evaluated, measuring the time from the TOR until the hands touch the steering wheel. Results The task (arrow task and SuRT), time budget (5 s and 7 s), and gender did not affect the hands-on time. However, the hands-on time for the drivers with the everyday task was significantly shorter than that for the drivers with the arrow task in the 5 s time budget. Conclusions In conditionally automated driving, the arrow task and SuRT imposed a similar workload on readiness to take over control. Compared to the everyday task, the engagement in the arrow tasks consumed more workload on readiness to take over control.

An efficient and adaptive test of auditory mental imagery

The ability to silently hear music in the mind has been argued to be fundamental to musicality. Objective measurements of this subjective imagery experience are needed if this link between imagery ability and musicality is to be investigated. However, previous tests of musical imagery either rely on self-report, rely on melodic memory, or do not cater in range of abilities. The Pitch Imagery Arrow Task (PIAT) was designed to address these shortcomings; however, it is impractically long. In this paper, we shorten the PIAT using adaptive testing and automatic item generation. We interrogate the cognitive processes underlying the PIAT through item response modelling. The result is an efficient online test of auditory mental imagery ability (adaptive Pitch Imagery Arrow Task: aPIAT) that takes 8 min to complete, is adaptive to participant’s individual ability, and so can be used to test participants with a range of musical backgrounds. Performance on the aPIAT showed positive moderate-to-strong correlations with measures of non-musical and musical working memory, self-reported musical training, and general musical sophistication. Ability on the task was best predicted by the ability to maintain and manipulate tones in mental imagery, as well as to resist perceptual biases that can lead to incorrect responses. As such, the aPIAT is the ideal tool in which to investigate the relationship between pitch imagery ability and musicality.

Color Block Task

With the increasing use of in-vehicle information system (IVIS), driver distraction, especially visual distraction, has increased dramatically. Evaluating the impact of IVIS on traffic safety is important. Previous studies have used various standard secondary-task methods in place of real IVIS interactions to obtain quantitative and scalable results. However, traditional visual secondary tasks, such as the Surrogate Reference Task (SuRT) and the Arrow Task, are insufficient to simulate incrementally increased workload with fine details or contrast difference. This study designed a new form of visual secondary task (Color Block Task, CoBT) that could provide appropriate difficulty, incremental complexity, and contrast option for visual distraction assessment. The validity of this method was tested in a driving simulator by analyzing the reaction time and accuracy of the CoBTs, the reaction time and accuracy of a Tactile Detection Response Task (TDRT), and drivers’ vehicle control performance. Results showed that CoBT is a valid tool to mock drivers’ in-vehicle visual demand. CoBT and TDRT performance can effectively distinguish the difficulty levels of CoBT and explain drivers’ attention allocation pattern to some extent.

Different levels of learning interact to shape the congruency sequence effect.

The congruency effect in distracter interference tasks is often reduced after incongruent relative to congruent trials. Moreover, this congruency sequence effect (CSE) is influenced by learning related to concrete stimulus and response features as well as by learning related to abstract cognitive control processes. There is an ongoing debate, however, over whether interactions between these learning processes are best explained by an episodic retrieval account, an adaptation by binding account, or a cognitive efficiency account of the CSE. To make this distinction, we orthogonally manipulated the expression of these learning processes in a novel factorial design involving the prime-probe arrow task. In Experiment 1, these processes interacted in an over-additive fashion to influence CSE magnitude. In Experiment 2, we replicated this interaction while showing it was not driven by conditional differences in the size of the congruency effect. In Experiment 3, we ruled out an alternative account of this interaction as reflecting conditional differences in learning related to concrete stimulus and response features. These findings support an episodic retrieval account of the CSE, in which repeating a stimulus feature from the previous trial facilitates the retrieval and use of previous-trial control parameters, thereby boosting control in the current trial. In contrast, they do not fit with (a) an adaptation by binding account, in which CSE magnitude is directly related to the size of the congruency effect, or (b) a cognitive efficiency account, in which costly control processes are recruited only when behavioral adjustments cannot be mediated by low-level associative mechanisms.

Examining the effects of active versus inactive bilingualism on executive control in a carefully matched non-immigrant sample

Bilinguals have been argued to show a cognitive advantage over monolinguals, although this notion has recently been called into question. In many studies, bilinguals and monolinguals vary on background variables. Moreover, most studies do not distinguish between potential effects of language knowledge and language use. We examined the effects of bilingualism on executive control in older adults by comparing active and inactive bilinguals and monolinguals matched on lifestyle, socio-economic status, education, IQ, gender, and age. In the Simon arrow task, no effect of bilingualism was observed on overall RTs or the Simon effect. In the task-switching paradigm, although there was a difference between active (but not inactive) bilinguals and monolinguals on raw switching costs, the groups did not differ on overall RTs and proportional switching or mixing costs. Thus, our findings do not reveal an overall cognitive advantage of bilingualism on executive control tasks in groups matched on background variables.

The Pitch Imagery Arrow Task: effects of musical training, vividness, and mental control.

Musical imagery is a relatively unexplored area, partly because of deficiencies in existing experimental paradigms, which are often difficult, unreliable, or do not provide objective measures of performance. Here we describe a novel protocol, the Pitch Imagery Arrow Task (PIAT), which induces and trains pitch imagery in both musicians and non-musicians. Given a tonal context and an initial pitch sequence, arrows are displayed to elicit a scale-step sequence of imagined pitches, and participants indicate whether the final imagined tone matches an audible probe. It is a staircase design that accommodates individual differences in musical experience and imagery ability. This new protocol was used to investigate the roles that musical expertise, self-reported auditory vividness and mental control play in imagery performance. Performance on the task was significantly better for participants who employed a musical imagery strategy compared to participants who used an alternative cognitive strategy and positively correlated with scores on the Control subscale from the Bucknell Auditory Imagery Scale (BAIS). Multiple regression analysis revealed that Imagery performance accuracy was best predicted by a combination of strategy use and scores on the Vividness subscale of BAIS. These results confirm that competent performance on the PIAT requires active musical imagery and is very difficult to achieve using alternative cognitive strategies. Auditory vividness and mental control were more important than musical experience in the ability to perform manipulation of pitch imagery.

The error-related negativity associated with different strength of stimulus–response interference

ObjectiveThe present study was aimed at clarifying the effect of stimulus–response compatibility (SRC) interference on the ERN. MethodsWe compared ERNs in two tasks differing in the level of interference, an arrow (AR) task classified as a Simon task and a more complex arrow-orientation (AO) task classified as a spatial-Stroop task. We also compared ERNs between partial errors (with initial incorrect movement corrected by a proper full response) and overt (uncorrected) errors. ResultsBehavioral response time and error rate indicated that both interference and ERN amplitude were larger for the AO task than for the AR task. There was no significant difference in the ERN amplitude between the partial and overt errors. ConclusionsThe ERN becomes larger as a function of the SRC interference. SignificanceOur study presented evidence that the ERN may represent response-monitoring associated with the SRC interference.

Training of basic laparoscopy skills on SimSurgery SEP

The aim of this study was to assess the performance curve for novices training in bimanual tissue manipulation and angled laparoscope navigation, and compare those performances with the performances of experienced laparoscopic surgeons. The Camera Navigation task with a 30° angled laparoscope and the Place Arrow task of the new SimSurgery SEP virtual reality simulator were used. Fourteen medical trainees (no laparoscopy experience) performed four training sessions within one week, including 15 repetitions of each task in total. The experienced participants (>50 procedures & familiar with angled laparoscope) performed each task twice. The performance on both tasks by the novices improved significantly over the training sessions. The experienced participants performed both tasks significantly better than the novices in repetition 3. After repetition 15, the performances of the novices on both tasks were of the same level as the performances of the experienced participants. By training on SimSurgery SEP, medical trainees can extensively improve their skills in navigation with 30° angled laparoscope and bimanual tissue manipulation. Further research should focus on the transfer of skills acquired on the simulator to the clinical setting. Knowledge on proficiency thresholds and training end-points for pre-clinical criterion-based training of different laparoscopic tasks also needs to be extended.

Task requirement and hemifield asymmetry in tachistoscopic partial report performance

It was hypothesized that the amount and direction of differences in tachistoscopic recognition accuracy for the right and the left visual hemifield should depend on the degree to which a partial report task requires exhaustive processing of the test stimulus. Position curves for single-item report were examined using four different tasks. In the Arrow task, Ss had to report a letter which was designated by a bar marker. In the Number task, the position of the critical letter was indicated by the digits 1–8. In the Letter task, the cue stimulus was a letter, and Ss were required to report its position in the test stimulus. In the Alphabetic task, a report on the alphabetically first letter of the test stimulus was required. The tasks were designated to encourage either selective processing (Arrow and Number tasks) or exhaustive processing (Letter and Alphabetic tasks). Right-hemifield superiority was predicted for selective processing, and left-hemifield superiority for exhaustive processing. The predictions were confirmed for the Arrow and Alphabetic tasks. A complete account of the position curves in the Number and Letter tasks required a consideration of the effects of the semantic nature of the cue stimulus and/or the spatial arrangement of cue stimulus and test stimulus. It was concluded that the processing operations underlying partial report are more complex than had been assumed previously.