Higher Cognitive Effort Research Articles

Work system analysis on puncher bar repair process in the production division of Akademi Teknik Soroako (Soroako Technical Academy)

One of the regular services in the Production Division of Akademi Teknik Soroako (Soroako Technical Academy) is repairing puncher bars of PT Vale Indonesia, One of the stages of his work is to straighten each punch bar. For straightening up each puncher bar, the worker needs to hammer each puncher bar with a 5 kg iron hammer manually. This operation requires enormous physical energy and high cognitive effort for controlling body movement, causing fatigue and cumulative musculoskeletal trauma. The research focuses on assessing the risk of musculoskeletal disorders on the straightening employing Ovako Work Posture Analysis System (OWAS) and Rapid Upper limb Assessment (RULA). The result of the study shows that the work postures while straightening the puncher bar has OWAS score = 2 which means it needs corrective action in the near term, and RULA score = 7 which means the work posture improvement should be made right now. Based on the OWAS and RULA score, several improvement programs and techniques are suggested in this study.

Visuo-spatial attention to the blind hemifield of hemianopic patients: Can it survive the impairment of visual awareness?

The general aim of this study was to assess the effect produced by visuo-spatial attention on both behavioural performance and brain activation in hemianopic patients following visual stimulus presentation to the blind hemifield. To do that, we tested five hemianopic patients and six age-matched healthy controls in an MRI scanner during the execution of a Posner-like paradigm using a predictive central cue. Participants were instructed to covertly orient attention toward the blind or sighted hemifield in different blocks while discriminating the orientation of a visual grating.In patients, we found significantly faster reaction times (RT) in valid and neutral than invalid trials not only in the sighted but also in the blind hemifield, despite the impairment of consciousness and performance at chance. As to the fMRI signal, in valid trials we observed the activation of ipsilesional visual areas (mainly lingual gyrus – area 19) during the orientation of attention toward the blind hemifield. Importantly, this activation was similar in patients and controls. In order to assess the related functional network, we performed a psychophysiological interactions (PPI) analysis that revealed an increased functional connectivity (FC) in patients with respect to controls between the ipsilesional lingual gyrus and ipsilateral fronto-parietal as well as contralesional parietal regions. Moreover, the shift of attention from the blind to the sighted hemifield revealed stronger FC between the contralesional visual areas V3/V4 and ipsilateral parietal regions in patients than controls. These results indicate a higher cognitive effort in patients when paying attention to the blind hemifiled or when shifting attention from the blind to the sighted hemfield, possibly as an attempt to compensate for the visual loss.Taken together, these results show that hemianopic patients can covertly orient attention toward the blind hemifield with a top-down mechanism by activating a functional network mainly including fronto-parietal regions belonging to the dorsal attentional network.

Cognitive sophistication and deliberation times

Differences in cognitive sophistication and effort are at the root of behavioral heterogeneity in economics. To explain this heterogeneity, behavioral models assume that certain choices indicate higher cognitive effort. A fundamental problem with this approach is that observing a choice does not reveal how the choice is made, and hence choice data is insufficient to establish the link between cognitive effort and behavior. We show that deliberation times provide an individually-measurable correlate of cognitive effort. We test a model of heterogeneous cognitive depth, incorporating stylized facts from the psychophysical literature, which makes predictions on the relation between choices, cognitive effort, incentives, and deliberation times. We confirm the predicted relations experimentally in different kinds of games.

Effects of rhetorical text analysis on idea generation and text quality

Abstract Producing a meaningful written discourse in a foreign language requires a high cognitive effort of EFL learners. They face challenges caused by L2 word or grammar-related difficulties, and also by the L2 genre and genre conventions that may be quite different from what they experienced in their L1. The present study focusses on the support offered to Vietnamese L2 writers to overcome these hindrances. An intensive four-week writing intervention was designed and tested to examine whether encouraging genre awareness via a short session of sample text analysis could empower students to conduct effective brainstorming for argumentative writing. In a pre-test post-test control group design with switching replications, with 66 EFL intermediate undergraduate participants, the study obtained four indicators of L2 argumentative writing quality: idea generation, productivity, global text quality and self-efficacy. The results showed that participants integrated the sample text analysis into the idea generation stage. They created significantly longer self-expressive free writing texts, perceived the generated ideas as more useful, and used more of these ideas in their argumentative texts composition, compared to students from the control condition (with teacher instruction only). No treatment effects were found for productivity, global quality of final text, and self-efficacy. Students in both control and treatment conditions generally showed a significant improvement on these variables.

Effects of mental fatigue on exercise decision-making

ObjectivesThe study investigated the effects of exerting high cognitive effort on people's decisions to engage in an acute bout of exercise through a serially-mediated process involving mental fatigue and benefit vs. cost evaluations. We also examined the relationship between perceived mental fatigue, perceived exertion and behavior among participants who chose to exercise. Design. Randomized, experimenter blind to group. MethodParticipants (N = 55, Mage = 19.04 ± 1.04 years) completed either a 10-min, high cognitive demand (incongruent Stroop) task or low cognitive demand (video documentary monitoring) task. Participants then made a choice between engaging in either a 22-min self-paced moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise task or a 22-min non-exercise task. Prior to making their choice, participants rated their mental fatigue and perceived benefits and costs of engaging in the exercise task. ResultsApproximately half the sample chose to exercise (n = 30). There was no direct effect of experimental group on choice. However, serial mediation analyses revealed significant indirect effects, indicating the high cognitive demand task causes increased mental fatigue, which in turn led to lower benefit vs. cost scores, and decreased likelihood of choosing to exercise (95% C.I. = −1.03 to −0.01). Among participants who elected to exercise, mental fatigue was not associated with the amount of work performed, but positively correlated with ratings of perceived exertion while exercising. ConclusionsFindings suggest mental fatigue affects exercise decision-making by elevating subjective evaluation of the costs of engaging in exercise as opposed to sedentary alternatives.

Exploring the role of justification and cognitive effort exertion on post-purchase regret in online shopping

Decision justification provides assurance and reduces negative post-decision emotions, while simultaneously expends decision costs (i.e., cognitive effort). The current paper investigated the function of justification and cognitive effort related to regret, specifically in the online shopping context in two studies. In Study 1, 112 participants reviewed vignettes in a 2 × 2 within-subjects design involving cognitive effort (high versus low) and justification of action (easy versus difficulty), and reported the regret level when their purchase decision yielded subpar consequences. As expected, high cognitive effort and easy justification reduced regret. However, the effect of justification on regret was moderated by cognitive effort. In Study 2, 178 participants were randomly assigned to conditions in a 2 × 2 between-subjects design involving cognitive effort (high versus low) and decision justification (waste versus control). Participants followed a cover story and shopped for a laptop online; then they rated the regret level had they made an unplanned purchase. Results confirmed the hypothesis; regret was greater when justification was wasted. However, wasted justification only worsened regret when more cognitive effort was exerted. The current studies shed light on understanding an intricate dynamic between information processing and justification in relation to regret when shopping online.

Symmetry of cortical planning for initiating stepping in sub-acute stroke

ObjectiveThis study examined motor planning for stepping when the paretic leg was either stepping or standing (to step with the non-paretic leg), to understand whether difficulty with balance and walking post-stroke could be attributed to poor motor planning. MethodsIndividuals with stroke performed self-initiated stepping. Amplitude and duration of the movement-related cortical potential (MRCP) was measured from Cz. Electromyography (EMG) of biceps femoris (BF) and rectus femoris (RF) were collected. ResultsThere were no differences between legs in stepping speed, MRCP or EMG parameters. The MRCPs when stepping with the paretic leg and the non-paretic leg were correlated. When the paretic leg was stepping, the MRCP amplitude correlated with MRCP duration, indicating a longer planning time was accompanied by higher cognitive effort. Slow steppers had larger MRCP amplitudes stepping with the paretic leg and longer MRCP durations stepping with the non-paretic leg. ConclusionsMRCP measures suggest that motor planning for initiating stepping are similar regardless of which limb is stepping. Individuals who stepped slowly had greater MRCP amplitudes and durations for planning. SignificanceIndividuals who step slowly may require more time and effort to plan a movement, which may compromise their safety in the community.

Cognitive Sophistication and Deliberation Times

Differences in cognitive sophistication and effort are at the root of behavioral heterogeneity in economics. To explain this heterogeneity, behavioral models assume that certain choices indicate higher cognitive effort. A fundamental problem with this approach is that observing a choice does not reveal how the choice is made, and hence choice data is insufficient to establish the link between cognitive effort and behavior. We show that deliberation times provide the missing link, in the form of an individually-measurable correlate of cognitive effort. We present a model of heterogeneous cognitive depth, incorporating stylized facts from the psychophysical literature, which makes predictions on the relation between choices, cognitive effort, incentives, and deliberation times. We confirm the predicted relations experimentally in different kinds of games. However, we also show that imputing cognitive depth from choices alone can lead to erroneous conclusions when the features leading to iterative thinking are not salient.

Intelligent Interruption Management System to Enhance Safety and Performance in Complex Surgical and Robotic Procedures.

Procedural flow disruptions secondary to interruptions play a key role in error occurrence during complex medical procedures, mainly because they increase mental workload among team members, negatively impacting team performance and patient safety. Since certain types of interruptions are unavoidable, and consequently the need for multitasking is inherent to complex procedural care, this field can benefit from an intelligent system capable of identifying in which moment flow interference is appropriate without generating disruptions. In the present study we describe a novel approach for the identification of tasks imposing low cognitive load and tasks that demand high cognitive effort during real-life cardiac surgeries. We used heart rate variability analysis as an objective measure of cognitive load, capturing data in a real-time and unobtrusive manner from multiple team members (surgeon, anesthesiologist and perfusionist) simultaneously. Using audio-video recordings, behavioral coding and a hierarchical surgical process model, we integrated multiple data sources to create an interactive surgical dashboard, enabling the identification of specific steps, substeps and tasks that impose low cognitive load. An interruption management system can use these low demand situations to guide the surgical team in terms of the appropriateness of flow interruptions. The described approach also enables us to detect cognitive load fluctuations over time, under specific conditions (e.g. emergencies) or in situations that are prone to errors. An in-depth understanding of the relationship between cognitive overload states, task demands, and error occurrence will drive the development of cognitive supporting systems that recognize and mitigate errors efficiently and proactively during high complex procedures.

An Analysis of Thoughts, Behaviours, and Emotions in Daily Decision-Making

Cognitive theory and naturalistic decision-making models were utilized to examine the relationship between thoughts, behaviours, and emotions in daily decision-making. An experimental survey using vignettes examined the effects of investment of cognitive and behavioural effort in hypothetical vignettes on emotional responses to uncertain negative outcomes. For each vignette, this negative outcome was either surprising or distressing. Further, the type of uncertainty was an alteration, inclusion, or cancellation pertaining to the original vignette, yielding six conditions in the within-groups design. Participants (N = 335, 220 females) responded to each vignette by choosing a behavioural effort option (low or high), following which they elaborated the reason for their choice (high or low cognitive effort). They also responded to the predetermined negative outcome on an affective scale (emotional response). Results showed that (a) emotional responses to vignettes varied, based on the type of uncertainty in the scenario; (b) surprising outcomes elicited higher emotional distress; (c) behavioural effort positively predicted emotional distress when the type of uncertainty was alteration or inclusion; and (d) strategies involving high cognitive effort predicted investment of high behavioural effort in the vignette. Implications of examining behavioural, cognitive, and emotional processes leading to daily decisions are discussed in the context of coping with uncertainty.

The Destructive Effect of Complex Analytics on Innovativeness

Several studies have raised a common concern in the field of management, the lack of innovation. However, they either attribute this phenomenon to the inefficiency of marketing analytics, or to managerial despair in evaluating innovation projects. In this article, the authors propose and empirically test cognitive effort spent on marketing analytics which can lead to the lack of innovativeness, due to the negative impact of high cognitive effort on the managers' mood. In a longitudinal experiment, where manipulating the complexity of the decision context through marketing analytics, the authors demonstrate that managers employing simple marketing analytics expect their competitors to launch more products, compared to managers using complex marketing analytics. They also demonstrate that firms employing simple marketing analytics behave venturesome by embarking upon innovative activities. At the same time, firms using complex marketing analytics take more deliberative actions by innovating less and amplifying short-term gains with high priced products.

Seguridad Vial y Procesos Psicológicos: Acciones Preventivas

The article reviews the relationship between psychological processes and road safety from a preventive position in order to provide evidence on alternatives used in therapy that may be useful for the proper psycho-physiological functioning and that determine a greater Road Safety. This review is relevant in the framework of the Policia Nacional del Colombia and Road Safety as it illustrates empirically validated methodologies that can be used by people who perform tasks of high cognitive effort such as driving. In order to develop the proposed theme, the initial notions of accident in transit will be reviewed, giving rise to a review of the cognitive processes involved in road safety, citing some empirical studies that show utility methods in the increase of the capacities of the driver. We conclude the effectiveness of methods based on cognitive stimulation and biofeedback for the strengthening of cognitive processes especially attentive, noting the directly proportional relationship between attention capacity and driving safety.

Modulation of ventral striatal activity by cognitive effort

Effort discounting theory suggests that the value of a reward should be lower if it was effortful to obtain, whereas contrast theory suggests that the contrast between the costly effort and the reward makes the reward seem more valuable. To test these alternative hypotheses, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) as participants engaged in feedback-based learning that required low or high cognitive effort to obtain positive feedback, while the objective amount of information provided by feedback remained constant. In the low effort condition, a single image was presented with four response options. In the high effort condition, two images were presented, each with two response options, and correct feedback was presented only when participants responded correctly to both of the images. Accuracy was significantly lower for the high effort condition, and all participants reported that the high effort condition was more difficult. A region of the ventral striatum selected for sensitivity to feedback value also showed increased activation to feedback presentation associated with the high effort condition relative to the low effort condition, when controlling for activation from corresponding control conditions where feedback was random. These results suggest that increased cognitive effort produces corresponding increases in positive feedback-related ventral striatum activity, in line with the predictions made by contrast theory. The accomplishment of obtaining a hard-earned intrinsic reward, such as positive feedback, may be particularly likely to promote reward-related brain activity.

Robust multiple criteria decision making applied to optimization of AISI H13 hardened steel turning with PCBN wiper tool

Mathematically, each Pareto optimal point is an equally acceptable solution to a multiobjective optimization problem (MOP). However, the process of choosing a single preferred solution among all computed alternatives can be a difficult task because of a high cognitive effort required. Thus, the main objective of this work is to optimize the process of AISI H13 hardened steel turning with PCBN wiper tool using a robust multiple criteria decision making based on an entropic measure to choose the most preferred Pareto optimal point as the problem final solution. The responses of tool life (T), surface roughness parameter (Ra), and the ratio between material removal rate and cutting force (MRR/Fc) are modeled by using the response surface methodology (RSM), using as decision variables cutting speed (Vc), feed rate (f), and depth of cut (d). The normal boundary intersection (NBI) method along with the mixture design of experiments (MDE) are used to optimize these responses simultaneously. The optimal turning process conditions obtained were judged satisfactory since that parameter values for cost, quality, and productivity are acceptable. Moreover, the study was able to demonstrate that the weights used in the multiobjective optimization process influence the prediction variance. From the variability point of view, the final solution obtained is the robust one, since it leads to a region of minimum variance, less variability, and greater reliability.

Longitudinal changes of amygdala and default mode activation in adolescents prenatally exposed to cocaine

Prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) is associated with long-term and negative effect on arousal regulation. Recent neuroimaging studies have examined brain mechanisms related to arousal dysregulation with cross-sectional experimental designs; but longitudinal changes in the brain, reflecting group differences in neurodevelopment, have never been directly examined. To directly assess the interaction of PCE and neurodevelopment, the present study used a longitudinal design to analyze functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data collected from 33 adolescents (21 with PCE and 12 non-exposed controls) while they performed the same working memory task with emotional distracters at two points in time. The mean age of participants was 14.3years at time_1 and 16.7years at time_2. With confounding factors statistically controlled, the fMRI data revealed significant exposure-by-time interaction in the activations of the amygdala and default mode network (DMN). For the control adolescents, brain activations associated with emotional arousal (amygdala) and cognitive effort (DMN) were both reduced at time_2 as compared to that at time_1. However, these activation reductions were not observed in the PCE group, indicating persistently high levels of emotional arousal and cognitive effort. In addition, correlations between longitudinal changes in the brain and in behavior have shown that adolescents with persistently high emotional arousal were more likely in need of high cognitive effort; and their cognitive performance was more likely to be affected by distractive challenges. The present results complement and extend previous findings from cross-sectional studies with further evidence supporting the view of PCE associated long-term teratogenic effects on arousal regulation.

Titles change the esthetic appreciations of paintings.

Esthetic experiences of artworks are influenced by contextualizing information such as titles. However, how titles contribute to positive esthetic experiences is still an open issue. Considering that fluency, as well as effortful elaborate processing, potentially influence esthetic experiences, we tested how three different title types—semantically matching (fluent), semantically non-matching (non-fluent), and an “untitled” condition (control)—affected experiences of abstract, semi-abstract, and representational art. While participants viewed title/artwork combinations we assessed facial electromygraphic (fEMG) recordings over M. corrugator supercilii and M. zygomaticus major muscle to capture subtle changes in emotional and cognitive processing, and asked for subjective liking and interest. Matching titles, but also the more effortful untitled condition, produced higher liking compared to non-fluently processed, non-matching titles especially in abstract art. These results were reflected in fEMG with stronger M. corrugator activations in the non-matching condition followed by the untitled condition. This implies high cognitive effort as well as negative emotions. Only in the matching condition, M. zygomaticus was more strongly activated indicating positive emotions due to fluency. Interest, however, was hardly affected. These results show that high levels of dis-fluency and cognitive effort reduce liking. However, fluency as well as moderate levels of effort contribute to more positive esthetic experiences.

Cortical correlates of response time slowing in older adults: ERP and ERD/ERS analyses during passive ankle movement

ObjectivesThe response time (RT) to kinesthetic perception has been used as a proprioceptive measurement, for example, in older individuals. However, the RT cannot provide information on impairments at specific stages of the respective sensorimotor processing. In the present study, electroencephalographic (EEG) signals were recorded during passive ankle movement with and without an associated perceptual task of movement detection. The main purpose was to analyze differences between young and older adults both in terms of RT and cortical responses. Putative differences in the latter were expected to point to changes in the processing associated with neural pathways or cortical regions in the older subjects. MethodsThe EEG activity of nineteen older (OA, 65–76years) and 19 young adults (YA, 21–32years) was recorded during passive ankle movement, without motor voluntary response (NVR, sensory condition), and during a condition with voluntary motor response (VR, with measurement of the RT). Event-related potentials (ERP) and beta event-related desynchronization/synchronization (ERD/ERS) were recorded and analyzed in both experimental conditions. ResultsThe RT in OA was larger than in YA (P<0.0001). EEG analyses showed that the N1 amplitude was larger in the VR than in the NVR condition (P=0.006), whereas no difference for latency was obtained between conditions (P=0.376). Comparisons between the groups revealed attenuated (P=0.019) and delayed (P=0.001) N1 in the OA group, irrespective of the condition (no interaction group vs condition). Only OA showed correlations between RT and N1, with significant correlation for both amplitude (r=−0.603, P=0.006) and latency (r=0.703, P=0.001). The ERD/ERS analyses revealed a task-dependent group effect: in NVR, significant differences were obtained only for the ERS amplitude, which was attenuated in OA (P=0.003). In VR, larger (P=0.004) and delayed (P=0.003) ERD and attenuated (P=0.029) and delayed (P=0.017) ERS peaks were observed in the older group. ConclusionsThe results suggest that a larger response time to proprioceptive stimuli in older adults is associated with a weaker and delayed proprioceptive afferent inflow to the cortex. In this scenario, older adults would need a higher cognitive effort (larger ERD) to process the sensory inputs when attempting to properly perform a sensorimotor task. SignificanceERP and ERD/ERS measurements during kinesthetic assessment provide new insights on identification of the origin of sensorimotor slowing in older adults.

Can Dynamic Visualizations with Variable Control Enhance the Acquisition of Intuitive Knowledge?

An important feature of inquiry learning is to take part in science practices including exploring variables and testing hypotheses. Computer-based dynamic visualizations have the potential to open up various exploration possibilities depending on the level of learner control. It is assumed that variable control, e.g., by changing parameters of a variable, leads to deeper processing (Chang and Linn 2013; de Jong and Njoo 1992; Nerdel 2003; Trey and Khan 2008). Variable control may be helpful, in particular, for acquiring intuitive knowledge (Swaak and de Jong 2001). However, it bares the risk of mental exhaustion and thus may have detrimental effects on knowledge acquisition (Sweller 1998). Students (N = 118) from four chemistry classes followed inquiry cycles using the software Molecular Workbench (Xie and Tinker 2006). Variable control was varied across the conditions (1) No-Manipulation group and (2) Manipulation group. By adding a third condition, (3) Manipulation-Plus group, we tested whether adding an active hypothesis phase prepares students before changing parameters of a variable. As expected, students in the Manipulation group and Manipulation-Plus group performed better concerning intuitive knowledge (d = 1.14) than students in the No-Manipulation group. On a descriptive level, results indicated higher cognitive effort in the Manipulation group and the Manipulation-Plus group than in the No-Manipulation group. Unexpectedly, students in the Manipulation-Plus group did not benefit from the active hypothesis phase (intuitive knowledge: d = .36). Findings show that students benefit from variable control. Furthermore, findings point toward the direction that variable control evokes desirable difficulties (Bjork and Linn 2006).

The Cost of Detecting Deception: Judging Veracity Makes Eyewitnesses Remember a Suspect Less Accurately but With More Certainty

SummaryThe current study extends previous research demonstrating the detrimental effects of divided attention during encoding on eyewitness memory. Previous data indicate that judging the veracity of a suspect causes witnesses to scrutinize him or her carefully and requires relatively high cognitive effort. We therefore hypothesized that performing this task while simultaneously observing the suspect should impair witnesses' memory for his or her appearance and message while ironically inflating their certainty and other testimony‐relevant judgments. Our results supported these predictions. Moreover, inducing witnesses to be suspicious about the suspect's truthfulness (Experiment 1) and motivating them to judge veracity as accurately as possible (Experiment 2) amplified the memory impairment effect and further increased several testimony‐relevant ratings. Additionally, compared with witnesses who incorrectly identified the suspect in a line‐up, those who made a correct decision expressed greater certainty about their line‐up accuracy and also provided higher ratings on some other testimony‐relevant measures. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Visual attention by consumers to check-all-that-apply questions: Insights to support methodological development

The use by consumers of simplifying response strategies when answering check-all-that-apply (CATA) questions for sensory characterization cannot be eliminated. However, ways to motivate consumers to cognitively engage more in the processing of CATA questions and provide their full attention to the task may be welcome. In this context, the aim of the present work was to evaluate patterns of visual attention to CATA questions by consumers and use the insights gained to advance knowledge about CATA question design. A consumer study was carried out in which participants were asked to evaluate two product sets with five samples each (potato chips or plain crackers) and to answer a check-all-that-apply question composed of 20 sensory terms, which was presented on a computer screen. Half of the consumers received the CATA question with the terms in a fixed order, whereas for the other half of participants the order of terms was different for each sample (i.e., simulating within participants balancing of term presentation order). While consumers completed the CATA tasks their eye movements were recorded using a remote eye-tracker. Results showed that the first time that consumers read the CATA question (i.e., for sample 1), they processed the terms from left to right and from top to bottom. In general, they considered the whole list of terms and then selected those that applied to the sample. As the task progressed consumers changed how they answered the CATA question, making fewer and shorter eye fixations to complete the task. Presenting the terms in different order for each sample significantly increased the total number and duration of fixations, which indicates higher cognitive effort. Implications for the design of CATA questions and suggestions for further research are discussed.