Decision Task Performance Research Articles

Proximal improvement and higher-order resting state network change after multidomain cognitive training intervention in healthy older adults.

Prior randomized control trials have shown that cognitive training interventions resulted in improved proximal task performance, improved functioning of activities of daily living, and reduced dementia risk in healthy older adults. Neural correlates implicated in cognitive training include hub brain regions of higher-order resting state networks including the default mode network, dorsal attention network, frontoparietal control network, and cingulo-opercular network. However, little is known about resting state network change after cognitive training, or the relation between functional brain changes and improvement in proximal task performance. We assessed the 1) change in proximal task performance, 2) change in higher-order resting state network connectivity via functional magnetic resonance imaging, and 3) association between these variables after a multidomain attention/speed-of-processing and working memory randomized control trial in a sample of 58 healthy older adults. Participants in the cognitive training group improved significantly on seven out of eight training tasks immediately after the training intervention with the largest magnitude of improvement in a divided attention/speed-of-processing task, the Double Decision task. Only the frontoparietal control network had significantly strengthened connectivity in the cognitive training group at the post-intervention timepoint. Lastly, higher frontoparietal control network connectivity was associated with improved Double Decision task performance after training in the cognitive training group. These findings show that the frontoparietal control network may strengthen after multidomain cognitive training interventions, and this network may underlie improvements in divided attention/speed-of-processing proximal improvement.

Higher-order resting state network association with the useful field of view task in older adults.

Speed-of-processing abilities decline with age yet are important in performing instrumental activities of daily living. The useful field of view, or Double Decision task, assesses speed-of-processing and divided attention. Performance on this task is related to attention, executive functioning, and visual processing abilities in older adults, and poorer performance predicts more motor vehicle accidents in the elderly. Cognitive training in this task reduces risk of dementia. Structural and functional neural correlates of this task suggest that higher-order resting state networks may be associated with performance on the Double Decision task, although this has never been explored. This study aimed to assess the association of within-network connectivity of the default mode network, dorsal attention network, frontoparietal control network, and cingulo-opercular network with Double Decision task performance, and subcomponents of this task in a sample of 267 healthy older adults. Multiple linear regressions showed that connectivity of the cingulo-opercular network is associated with visual speed-of-processing and divided attention subcomponents of the Double Decision task. Cingulo-opercular network and frontoparietal control network connectivity is associated with Double Decision task performance. Stronger connectivity is related to better performance in all cases. These findings confirm the unique role of the cingulo-opercular network in visual attention and sustained divided attention. Frontoparietal control network connectivity, in addition to cingulo-opercular network connectivity, is related to Double Decision task performance, a task implicated in reduced dementia risk. Future research should explore the role these higher-order networks play in reduced dementia risk after cognitive intervention using the Double Decision task.

Changing the means of managerial work: effects of automated decision\xa0support systems on personnel selection tasks

To enhance the quality and efficiency of information processing and decision-making, automation based on artificial intelligence and machine learning has increasingly been used to support managerial tasks and duties. In contrast to classical applications of automation (e.g., within production or aviation), little is known about how the implementation of automation for management changes managerial work. In a work design frame, this study investigates how different versions of automated decision support systems for personnel selection as a specific management task affect decision task performance, time to reach a decision, reactions to the task (e.g., enjoyment), and self-efficacy in personnel selection. In a laboratory experiment, participants (N = 122) were randomly assigned to three groups and performed five rounds of a personnel selection task. The first group received a ranking of the applicants by an automated support system before participants processed applicant information (support-before-processing group), the second group received a ranking after they processed applicant information (support-after-processing group), and the third group received no ranking (no-support group). Results showed that satisfaction with the decision was higher for the support-after-processing group. Furthermore, participants in this group showed a steeper increase in self-efficacy in personnel selection compared to the other groups. This study combines human factors, management, and industrial/organizational psychology literature and goes beyond discussions concerning effectiveness and efficiency in the emerging area of automation in management in an attempt to stimulate research on potential effects of automation on managers’ job satisfaction and well-being at work.

Time perception and timed decision task performance during passive heat stress

ABSTRACT This study investigates the hypotheses that during passive heat stress, the change in perception of time and change in accuracy of a timed decision task relate to changes in thermophysiological variables gastrointestinal temperature and heart rate (HR), as well as subjective measures of cognitive load and thermal perception. Young adult males (N = 29) participated in two 60-min head-out water immersion conditions (36.5°C-neutral and 38.0°C-warm). Cognitive task measurements included accuracy (judgment task), response time (judgment ask), and time estimation (interval timing task). Physiological measurements included gastrointestinal temperature and heart rate. Subjective measurements included cognitive task load (NASA-TLX), rate of perceived exertion, thermal sensation, and thermal comfort. Gastrointestinal temperature and HR were significantly higher in warm versus neutral condition (gastrointestinal temperature: 38.4 ± 0.2°C vs. 37.2 ± 0.2°C, p < 0.01; HR: 105 ± 8 BPM vs. 83 ± 9 BPM, p < 0.01). The change in accuracy was significantly associated with the change in gastrointestinal temperature, and attenuated by change in thermal sensation and change in HR (r2=0.40, p< 0.01). Change in response time was significantly associated with the change in gastrointestinal temperature (r2=0.26, p< 0.002), and change in time estimation was best explained by a change in thermal discomfort (r2=0.18, p< 0.01). Changes in cognitive performance during passive thermal stress are significantly associated with changes in thermophysiological variables and thermal perception. Although explained variance is low (<50%), decreased accuracy is attributed to increased gastrointestinal temperature, yet is attenuated by increased arousal (expressed as increased HR and warmth thermal sensation).

The Effects of Number of Features on Age-related Differences in Lexical Decision

어휘 길이, 빈도 그리고 습득연령과 같은 다양한 요소들은 어휘 판단 과정에서 처리에 영향을 미친다. 어휘 인식에 미치는 영향변수를 규명한 여러 연구들이 있지만 의미자질 개수와 노화가 이러한 과정에 어떠한 영향을 미치는지 알아본 연구는 찾아보기 힘들다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 청년층 30명과 노년층 30명을 대상으로 의미자질 개수(number of features; NOF)에 따른 어휘판단과제에서의 수행력 차이를 알아보고자 하였다. 연구결과, 어휘판단과제에서의 반응시간은 청년층이 노년층보다 유의하게 빠른 것으로 나타났으며, 두 군 모두 고NOF 어휘에서 저NOF 어휘보다 빠른 반응시간을 보였다. 둘째, 반응정확도 역시 청년층이 노년층에 비해 유의하게 높았으며, 두 군 모두 저NOF 어휘보다 고 NOF 어휘에서 높은 반응정확도를 보였다. 셋째, 각 군 내에서 NOF와 반응시간, 반응정확도 간의 상관성을 살펴본 결과, 두 군 모두 유의한 상관을 보이지는 않았다. 종합해보면 어휘가 갖고 있는 의미자질 개수는 어휘 인식 속도와 정확도에 영향을 미치며 노화가 진행됨에 따라 그 영향력이 더 증가한다는 것을 알 수 있다. 이러한 결과는 근거기반 이름대기 중재 장면에서 NOF 변수를 기초자료로 활용가능하게 하는데 유용한 자료를 제공한다는 면에서 그 의의가 있다.Various factors like word length, word frequency and age of acquisition affect processing of the lexical decision task. There are many studies that examined variables affecting lexical decision, but it is difficult to find studies about the effects of number of features and aging on this process. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to find the difference in lexical decision task performance according to number of features (NOF) in 30 youths and 30 elders. Based on the results, youths showed significantly faster reaction time in the lexical decision task compared to elders, and both groups showed faster reaction time with high NOF vocabularies than low NOF vocabularies. Second, youths also showed significantly higher response accuracy than elders, and both groups showed higher response accuracy with higher NOF vocabularies than low NOF vocabularies. Third, as a result of examining the correlation among NOF, reaction time and response accuacy within each group, both groups did not show a significant correlation. In summary, NOF of vocabularies affect speed and accuracy of lexical decision, and this effect increases with aging. Such results are meaningful in that they present useful data about NOF variables in the evidence-based naming intervention.

A further examination of word frequency and age-of-acquisition effects in English lexical decision task performance: The role of frequency trajectory.

Word frequency is an important predictor of lexical-decision task performance. The current study further examined the role of this variable by exploring the influence of frequency trajectory. Frequency trajectory is measured by how often a word occurs in childhood relative to adulthood. Past research on the role of this variable in word recognition has produced equivocal results. In the current study, words were selected based on their frequencies in Grade 1 (child frequency) and Grade 13 (college frequency). In Experiment 1, four frequency trajectory conditions were factorially examined in a lexical-decision task with English words: high-to-high (world), high-to-low (uncle), low-to-high (brain) and low-to-low (opera). an interaction between Grade 1 and college frequency demonstrated that words in the low-to-high condition were processed significantly faster and more accurately than words in the low-to-low condition, whereas the high-to-high and high-to-low conditions did not differ significantly. In Experiment 2, an advantage for words with an increasing frequency trajectory was also supported in regression analyses on both lexical decision and naming times for 3,039 items selected from the English Lexicon Project (Balota et al., 2007). This was replicated in Experiment 3, based on a regression analysis of 2,680 words from the British Lexicon Project (BLP; Keuleers, Lacey, Rastle, & Brysbaert, 2012). In all analyses, rated age-of-acquisition also significantly impacted word recognition. Together, the results suggest that the age at which a word is initially learned as well as its frequency trajectory across childhood impact performance in the lexical-decision task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Heuristic Information Acquisition and Restriction Rules for Decision Support

The research question addressed by this study was: What information should be presented to or hidden from decision makers in order to facilitate high performance in decision tasks? Previous research on information search is limited because of its focus on analytic information acquisition methods; analytic because of the focus on maximizing expected utility; acquisition because of the focus on what information should be added or searched for. Implementing these methods requires reliable assessments of probabilities, cue weights, and cue values and does not provide suggestions on how to restrict or remove information. In this work, we present four heuristics, or simple rules, for acquiring and restricting information that only require an understanding of the distribution of known and unknown information (information imbalance and complete attribute pairs). The rules were tested on a range of analytic and heuristic decision strategies within two-option decision tasks across 15 real-world environments. Though the rules are transparent and easy to communicate (create a balance of information between options and within cues) and require little information to perform, the simulation results show that the rules were generally effective across all environments. For almost every combination of rule and strategy, the heuristic restriction rules were shown to be more likely to increase rather than decrease accuracy. In every combination, the heuristic acquisition rules were shown to increase accuracy more than acquiring information that did not adhere to the rules. Further statistical and mathematical analysis showed that rules are mediated by strategies’ full information accuracy and estimates of missing information.

Effect of Emotions in a Lexical Decision Task

Abstract. This study measured the effect of emotional states on lexical decision task performance and investigated which underlying components (physiological, attentional orienting, executive, lexical, and/or strategic) are affected. We did this by assessing participants’ performance on a lexical decision task, which they completed before and after an emotional state induction task. The sequence effect, usually produced when participants repeat a task, was significantly smaller in participants who had received one of the three emotion inductions (happiness, sadness, embarrassment) than in control group participants (neutral induction). Using the diffusion model ( Ratcliff, 1978 ) to resolve the data into meaningful parameters that correspond to specific psychological components, we found that emotion induction only modulated the parameter reflecting the physiological and/or attentional orienting components, whereas the executive, lexical, and strategic components were not altered. These results suggest that emotional states have an impact on the low-level mechanisms underlying mental chronometric tasks.

Impact of thalamic deep brain Stimulation on lexical processing

The contribution of subcortical structures to language-related processing is controversial, but interestingly Deep Brain Stimulation for the treatment of Movement Disorders can go along with reduced lexical capacities. Against this background, word processing functions were assessed as a function of thalamic versus subthalamic Deep Brain Stimulation. Both on and off stimulation, 14 (2/12 f/m; 64.71 (± 7.88) years) Parkinson's disease patients with subthalamic and 10 (6/4 f/m; 68.00 (± 10.39) years) Essential Tremor patients with thalamic Deep Brain Stimulation engaged in a Lexical Decision Task, requiring the differentiation of acoustically presented words from non-words. These stimuli were preceded by non-target words, either phonemically or semantically related or unrelated to the following presentation. During task performance, event-related potentials were recorded. This allowed for the determination of (i) lexical decision time, (ii) priming effects, and (iii) the N400 as neurophysiological correlate of lexical stimulus processing. Measurements were additionally performed in 19 (9/10 f/m; 29.95 (± 5.60) years) young and 12 (5/7 f/m; 66.00 (± 7.30) age matched healthy subjects. Overall, the performance speed in the Lexical Decision Task correlated with N400 peak latency (rs = 0.49; p = 0.003). N400 amplitudes were abnormally low in the group of patients with Parkinson's disease. With respect to on-off effects, active compared to inactive stimulation prolonged word decisions (p = 0.010) and reduced N400 potentials in thalamic (p = 0.018), but not subthalamic Deep Brain Stimulation (see Fig. 1). This was irrespective of word priming. In conclusion the expression of N400 and Lexical Decision Task performance are influenced by thalamic state functions, modulated by Deep Brain Stimulation. This is compatible with the idea of thalamo-cortical engagement of word-related processing, as suggested by 6 influential biolinguistic models. In clinical terms, the findings specify cognitive sequels of Deep Brain Stimulation in a target-specific way.

EEG Correlates of Song Prosody: A New Look at the Relationship between Linguistic and Musical Rhythm

Song composers incorporate linguistic prosody into their music when setting words to melody, a process called “textsetting.” Composers tend to align the expected stress of the lyrics with strong metrical positions in the music. The present study was designed to explore the idea that temporal alignment helps listeners to better understand song lyrics by directing listeners’ attention to instances where strong syllables occur on strong beats. Three types of textsettings were created by aligning metronome clicks with all, some or none of the strong syllables in sung sentences. Electroencephalographic recordings were taken while participants listened to the sung sentences (primes) and performed a lexical decision task on subsequent words and pseudowords (targets, presented visually). Comparison of misaligned and well-aligned sentences showed that temporal alignment between strong/weak syllables and strong/weak musical beats were associated with modulations of induced beta and evoked gamma power, which have been shown to fluctuate with rhythmic expectancies. Furthermore, targets that followed well-aligned primes elicited greater induced alpha and beta activity, and better lexical decision task performance, compared with targets that followed misaligned and varied sentences. Overall, these findings suggest that alignment of linguistic stress and musical meter in song enhances musical beat tracking and comprehension of lyrics by synchronizing neural activity with strong syllables. This approach may begin to explain the mechanisms underlying the relationship between linguistic and musical rhythm in songs, and how rhythmic attending facilitates learning and recall of song lyrics. Moreover, the observations reported here coincide with a growing number of studies reporting interactions between the linguistic and musical dimensions of song, which likely stem from shared neural resources for processing music and speech.

Lexical decision task performance in blood-fearful and spider-fearful individuals

University undergraduates were pre-screened for blood fearfulness (fear of blood, n = 25), spider fearfulness (fear of spiders, n = 30), or non-fearfulness (n = 23) and presented with blood, spider, neutral, positive, and pseudoword (pronouncable nonword, like flirp) stimuli in a lexical decision task (LDT). Use of the LDT in phobic individuals may provide insight about how these individuals process, store, and ultimately use information and, in turn, how processing this information affects their day-to-day activities. Words were responded to faster than pseudowords. No group main or interaction effects emerged, and all groups responded faster and more accurately to spider words then blood words and neutral words. Results suggest that the single-word lexical decision task may not be sensitive in detecting lexical processing biases toward threat in these groups. Results also suggest that paradigms that are based on high-level, semantic-conceptual information processing (like lexical decision) are not sensitive enough to detect group differences in blood and spider phobias. Any array of perceptual and conceptual tasks taken together may be needed to detect these differences.

The effects of anxious responding on mental arithmetic and lexical decision task performance

Anxiety-related responding and skill deficits historically are associated with performance-based problems such as mathematics anxiety, yet the relative contribution of these variables to substandard performance remains poorly understood. Utilizing a 7% carbon dioxide (CO 2) gas to induce anxiety, the present study examined the impact of anxious responding on two performance tasks, mental arithmetic and lexical decision. Independent variables included math anxiety group, gender, and gas condition. Dependent variables included task performance and physiological and self-report indices of anxiety. A total of 64 university undergraduate students participated. Physiological and verbal-report measures of anxiety supported the utility of 7% carbon dioxide-enriched air as an anxiety-inducing stimulus. Behavioral disruption on performance tasks, however, did not differ as a function of carbon dioxide inhalation. Performance did differ as a function of math anxiety. High math anxious individuals generally exhibited higher error rates on mathematical tasks, particularly on tasks designed to measure advanced math skill and those requiring working memory resources. These findings are discussed with reference to processing efficiency theory, discordance among anxiety response systems, and the intricacies associated with skill measurement.

The effects on decision task performance of computer synthetic voice output

Computer-synthesized voice has reached technological maturity and is expected to help resolve some of the human-computer interface difficulties. Research was conducted which focused on the utility of adding computer voice output to a microcomputer work station for decision support. Specifically the computer voice duplicated instructions that were printed on the screen for a visual display task in order to facilitate “eyes on” the visual problem. Response time and the number of errors were compared with conditions without computer voice. Since cognitive style, or decision style, has been recognized as an important individual difference for interface design, subjects were classified as having an analytic, heuristic or neutral decision style. The results found a surprising interaction effect between decision style and computer synthetic voice. Response time and errors improved for the analytic subjects, were degraded for the heuristic subjects, and were unchanged for the neutral subjects. These findings are important for the design of the human-computer interface because 45% of the subjects were in the affected groups. This paper is thought to be the first evaluation of the effects of adding computer synthesized voice instructions to a computer work station for decision making.

Visual hemispace differences reflect hemisphere asymmetries

The relationship between the representation of the extracorporeal visual hemispace and the contralateral hemisphere has been investigated by presenting visual stimuli foveally either in the right or in the left hemispace. In a lexical decision task (Exp. 1) and a face-familiarity decision task (Exp. 2) lateral asymmetries very similar to those obtained using the divided visual field technique have been found. These results suggest that under particular circumstances the hemispace representation in the contralateral hemisphere overrides the retinal representation. Finally, it was found that in a lexical decision task performance with stimuli in the right hemispace was very similar to that with stimuli in a central position. The physiological and adaptive meaning of this phenomenon is discussed.

Structuring decision problems and the ‘bias heuristic’

This paper examines our understanding of the decomposition of immediate acts when structuring decision problems. Seven different types of uncertainties are identified, and four of these are shown to be taken explicitly into account in models within the province of decision theory, described in terms of four interlocking systems interfaced with semantic memory (a core act-event system, and systems buffering utilities, probabilities and events, respectively). Requisite decision modeling is shown to require that the remaining three types of uncertainty (procedural uncertainty; how the decision maker will feel about subsequent acts; agency for changing subsequent states of the world) are also resolved. Methods for ‘fixing’ structure are discussed in terms of aiming at a common understanding about the ‘small world’ in which a decision problem is located. Difficulties in resolving uncertainties in doing this are described. An alternative approach, common in studies invoking ‘behavioural decision theory’ is contrasted: imposing structure, assuming common understanding. The latter approach is shown to involve (i) the ‘naturalisation’ of the small world in which the decision problem is located, and (ii) the utilisation of normative models as ‘ideal types’, leading to the use of the ‘bias’ argument in discussing subjects' performance in decision tasks. Using this argument reflexively, the operation of the ‘bias heuristic’ is identified in a survey of published papers referencing this approach to the study of decision making. Effects identified are: availability of tasks, subjects and explanations; representativeness of findings; and anchoring and adjustment of explanations. Implications for practice are discussed throughout the paper.