Time-based Expectancies Research Articles

Investigating time-based expectancy beyond binary timing scenarios: evidence from a paradigm employing three predictive pre-target intervals

When the duration of a pre-target interval probabilistically predicts the identity of the target, participants typically form time-based expectancies: they respond faster to frequent interval-target combinations than to infrequent ones. Yet, previous research investigating the cognitive time-processing mechanisms underlying time-based expectancy assessed time-based expectancy always in situations with a binary set of intervals (i.e. short vs. long). Here we aim to test whether time-based expectancy transfers to more complex settings with three different predictive time intervals (short, medium, long) in which each predicts one of three different target stimuli with 80% probability. In three experiments we varied how the medium interval was computed (arithmetic mean, geometric mean, or in between both). Our results showed that participants were able to learn the time-event contingencies for the short and the long as well as for the medium interval, and were, thus able to flexibly redirect their target expectancy two times during the course of a trial. The evidence concerning the impact of the manipulation of the medium intervals’ absolute duration on time-based expectancy was, however, mixed, as time-based expectancy for the medium interval could only be observed in one of three reported experiments. In sum, the findings of the present study suggest a previously unknown cognitive flexibility underlying time-based expectancy and offer important theoretical implications, challenging future research on the timing mechanisms involved in time-based expectancy.

Context dependency of time-based event-related expectations for different modalities

Expectations about the temporal occurrence of events (when) are often tied with the expectations about certain event-related properties (what and where) happening at these time points. For instance, slowly waking up in the morning we expect our alarm clock to go off; however, the longer we do not hear it the more likely we already missed it. However, most current evidence for complex time-based event-related expectations (TBEEs) is based on the visual modality. Here we tested whether implicit TBEEs can act cross-modally. To this end, visual and auditory stimulus streams were presented which contained early and late targets embedded among distractors (to maximise temporal target uncertainty). Foreperiod-modality-contingencies were manipulated run-wise: visual targets either occurred early in 80% of trials and auditory targets occurred late in 80% of trials or vice versa. Participants showed increased sensitivity for expected auditory early/visual late targets which increased over time while the opposite pattern was observed for visual early/auditory late targets. A benefit in reaction times was only found for auditory early trials. Together, this pattern of results suggests that implicit context-dependent TBEEs for auditory targets after short foreperiods (be they correct or not) dominated and determined which modality became more expected at the late position irrespective of the veridical statistical regularity. Hence, TBEEs in cross-modal and uncertain environments are context-dependent, shaped by the dominant modality in temporal tasks (i.e., auditory) and only boost performance cross-modally when expectations about the event after the short foreperiod match with the run-wise context (i.e., auditory early/visual late).

How does positive mood modulate time-based event expectancy?

In the present study, we investigated how positive mood affects the formation of time-based event expectancies. After positive or neutral mood inductions, participants performed a binary choice response task in which two target stimuli (circle and square) and two pre-target intervals (800 and 1600ms) appeared equally often. One of the targets was paired with the short interval and the other target with the long interval in 90% of the trials. We found that participants from the positive and neutral groups showed markedly different behavioral patterns of time-based expectancy. The time-based expectancy was restricted to shorter intervals for the positive group and to longer intervals for the neutral group. We propose that positive mood increases attentional prioritization of information that is temporally closer to us.

Only time will tell the future: Anticipatory saccades reveal the temporal dynamics of time-based location and task expectancy.

Humans form associations between time intervals and subsequent events and thus develop time-based expectancies that enable time-based action preparation. For instance, when each of two foreperiods (short vs. long) is frequently paired with one specific task (e.g., number magnitude judgment vs. number parity judgment) and infrequently with the alternative task, participants are faster to respond to frequent rather than infrequent foreperiod-task combinations. Here, we investigated the time course of time-based task expectancy by measuring eye movements toward a left and right target location. Foreperiods predicted target locations with 100% validity and tasks with 90% validity. In 2 experiments, without having any explicit knowledge about the foreperiod-location or foreperiod-task contingencies, participants first moved their eyes to the location associated with the short foreperiod and then looked toward the location of the long foreperiod (if no stimulus had been presented after the short foreperiod had passed). That is, they proactively moved their eyes to optimize perception in line with the specific time and location they expected an event to occur at. Importantly, these eye movements reflected not only time-based location expectations, but also time-based task expectations. We discuss new insights in time-based expectancy and its temporal dynamics obtained from anticipatory eye movements and highlight spontaneous eye movements as a window into cognitive processes that cannot be assessed via behavioral response measures. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Humans derive task expectancies from sub-second and supra-second interval durations.

Recent studies in the field of task switching have shown that humans can base expectancies for tasks on temporal cues. When tasks are predictable based on the duration of the preceding pre-target interval, humans implicitly adapt to this predictability, indicated by better performance in trials with validly compared to invalidly predicted tasks. Yet, it is not clear which internal timing mechanisms are involved. Previous research has suggested that intervals from the sub- and supra-second range are processed by distinct cognitive timing systems. As earlier studies on temporally predictable task switching have used predictive intervals stemming from both ranges, it was not yet clear if the time-based expectancy effect was driven by just one of the two internal timing systems. The present study used clearly sub-second intervals (10ms and 500ms) in Experiment 1, while clearly supra-second intervals (1500ms and 3000ms) were used in Experiment 2. Substantial adaptation effects were observed in both experiments, showing that sub- as well as supra-second timing systems are involved in time-based expectancies for tasks. The present findings offer important implications for our theoretical understanding of the internal timing mechanisms involved in time-based task expectancy.

Children with autism spectrum disorder show increased sensitivity to time-based predictability

Objectives: We studied timed-based expectancy as well as general perceptual-motor speed in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).Methods: In Experiment 1, 11 children with ASD and 11 typically developing children (TD) (6–13 years) completed a binary choice response task in which foreperiod duration predicted the response target’s location with a probability of 0.8. In Experiment 2, we compared performance between 10 children with ASD (6–11 years) and 10 TD children by using a simple reaction time test.Results: Employing a binary forced choice task where the duration of a pre-target interval (800 or 1400 ms) probabilistically predicted the target, we found that children with ASD were sensitive to the temporal regularity, whereas TD children were not. Children with ASD were faster for expected combinations of interval and target location but they were also less accurate for those combinations. Results from an additional simple reaction time test indicate that the development of general perceptual-motor processes was delayed in children with ASD. However, the ability for children with ASD to form time-based expectancies was not correlated with their performance in the simple reaction time test.Conclusion: Children with ASD show significantly greater sensitivity towards time-based predictability than TD children. However, the development of general perceptual-motor processes was impaired in children with ASD.

Age-Related Differences in Time-Based Event Expectancies

The ability to form time-based event expectancies is one of the most important determinants of anticipative behavior. The aim of the present study was to determine whether healthy aging influences the formation of time-based event expectancies. Ten older adults with ages ranging between 60 and 73 years and ten younger adults with ages ranging between 20 and 32 years participated. We employed a binary choice response task mimicking a computer game, in which two target stimuli and two pre-target intervals appeared overall equally often. One of the targets was paired with the short interval and the other target with the long interval in 80% of the trials. Our results showed that younger adults responded more rapidly to frequent interval–target combinations than to infrequent combinations, suggesting that the young participants formed time-based event expectancies. In contrast, the ability to form time-based event expectancies was reduced for older participants. The formation of time-based event expectancies seems to change during healthy aging. We propose that this age-related difference is due to age-related expectation deficits or a reduction of attentional capacities, rather than to deficits in timing abilities.

Time-based expectations entail preparatory motor activity

Human behavior is guided by expectations that facilitate perception of upcoming events or reaction to them. In natural settings expectations are often implicitly based on time, e.g., when making a phone call one would expect to hear either a person answering (earlier) or a voicemail greeting (later). We investigated how time-based expectations can improve performance in the absence of explicit prior information on the pending stimulus or the associated response. Visual stimuli were presented after a characteristic short or long foreperiod, and a forced-choice categorization using either the left or the right hand was required. The electroencephalogram (EEG) revealed a decrease in central 9–12 Hz power over the course of the trial. Moreover, lateralized pre-motor potentials were observed which changed polarity after the short foreperiod. At stimulus onset, amplitudes of pre-motor potentials co-varied with performance, so that higher (more negative) amplitudes were associated with slower responses to unexpected targets. Altogether, the results suggest that implicit time-based expectations entail effector-specific preparatory brain activity, which is inhibited until the expected onset time of the event. Thus, time-based expectations prepare for action.

Incorporating temporality into implicit leadership and followership theories: Exploring inconsistencies between time-based expectations and actual behaviors

Given that time is such a critical contextual variable in organizations and effectiveness indicators rarely exclude timeliness, we argue that temporal individual differences are an unfortunate omission from implicit leadership theories (ILTs) and implicit followership theories (IFTs). Both implicit theories and time-based individual differences are commonly undiscussed, but their subtle effects can manifest explicitly in behaviors and consequences that have real implications for leaders and followers in organizations. Therefore, in this conceptual paper, we draw attention to time patience (the extent to which individuals are unconcerned with or unfocused on deadlines and the passage of time), time perspective (the relative importance of past, present, and future events in ongoing thought processes and decision-making), polychronicity (the preference for multitasking), and pacing style (the manner in which individuals distribute their effort over time in working toward deadlines) as neglected, but research-worthy components of followers' ILTs and leaders' IFTs. By infusing time-related characteristics into leadership research, we not only consider the content and structure of temporal ILTs and IFTs, but also draw attention to potential inconsistency in leaders' temporal IFTs and followers' actual behaviors, as well as followers' temporal ILTs and leaders' actual behaviors. Further, we offer propositions that have prescriptive value in specifying the conditions under which temporal ILT and IFT inconsistency will be more or less detrimental to leader-follower coordination.

P.6.a.006 How alcohol intake affects on time-based expectancies

Serotoninergic neurones originating in the dorsal and median raphe nuclei project to mesolimbic structures, including the nucleus accumbens (NAcb) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA), where they may have an important regulatory role. Some evidence from dopamine release, behavioural and binding studies directly implicates involvement of 5-HT3 and 5-HT4 receptors in the NAcb. Other in vivo dopamine release and behavioural experiments in rats have provided evidence for 5-HT3 receptor-mediated enhancement of mesolimbic dopaminergic activity, although the location of the 5-HT3 receptors involved is unknown because the selective 5-HT3 receptor agents used were administered systemically or intracerebroventricularly. This raises the possibility of a VTA site of action; as yet, however, relatively little is specifically known about 5-HT receptors and function in the VTA. Mesolimbic dopamine release in rats, measured in vivo with microdialysis probes in the NAcb, can be inhibited by tropisetron administered directly into the VTA. In our laboratory, behavioural studies in rats have shown that a sustained hyperlocomotion is produced by 2-methyl-5-HT administered into the VTA via stereotactically implanted guide cannulae. Mesolimbic dopaminergic activation is involved, because pretreatment with the catecholamine synthesis inhibitor α-methyl-p-tyrosine abolishes 2-methyl-5-HT-induced hyperlocomotion. The 2-methyl-5-HT hyperlocomotor response is blocked by prior intra-VTA injection of ondansetron but is not affected by methiothepin, and intra-VTA 5-carboxamidotryptamine, α-methyl-5-HT or renzapride were without effect, thus a 5-HT3 receptor in the VTA mediates the 2-methyl-5-HT response. These in vivo dopamine release and behavioural studies therefore confirm that 5-HT3 receptors in the VTA can mediate increased locomotor activity, by modulating the firing of mesolimbic dopaminergic cell bodies.

Detecting eye movement abnormalities from concussion.

An attention-based biomarker may be useful for concussion screening. A key role of attention is to generate time-based expectancies of specific sensory information, and it is postulated that postconcussion cognitive impairments and symptoms may stem from a primary deficit in this predictive timing mechanism. There is a close relationship between gaze and attention, but in addressing predictive timing, there is a need for an appropriate testing paradigm and methods to quantify oculomotor anomalies. We have utilized a continuous predictive visual tracking paradigm because human visual tracking requires predicting the temporal course of a stimulus and dynamically synchronizing the required action with the stimulus. We have shown that concussion patients often show disrupted gaze-target synchronization characterized by large gaze position error variability and overall phase advancement. Various attention components interact with visual tracking, and thus there is a possibility that different neurological and physiological conditions produce identifiable visual tracking characteristics. Analyzing neuromotor functions, specifically oculomotor synchronization, can provide a fast, accurate, and reliable assessment of cognitive functions.