Koch Severine, Holland Rob W, van Knippenberg Ad
Department of Social and Cultural Psychology, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Cognition. 2008 Oct;109(1):133-42. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2008.07.014. Epub 2008 Oct 5.
In two studies, the regulatory function of approach-avoidance cues in activating cognitive control processes was investigated. It was hypothesized that avoidance motor actions, relative to approach motor actions, increase the recruitment of cognitive resources, resulting in better performance on tasks that draw on these capacities. In Study 1, error rates on a verbal response mode version of the Stroop task were analyzed. On inconsistent Stroop trials, participants in the avoidance condition made significantly fewer errors than those in the approach condition. In Study 2, performance differences on a task switching paradigm were investigated. Crucially, approach and avoidance motor actions were manipulated within-subjects by alternating between approach and avoidance motor actions on 4 blocks of trials. Temporal switching costs were significantly lower while performing an avoidance, compared to an approach motor action. These results support our hypothesis that avoidance cues, relative to approach cues, lead to improved performance on cognitive control tasks.
在两项研究中，对趋近-回避线索在激活认知控制过程中的调节功能进行了探究。研究假设，相对于趋近动作，回避动作会增加认知资源的调用，从而在依赖这些能力的任务上表现得更好。在研究1中，分析了言语反应模式下的斯特鲁普任务的错误率。在不一致的斯特鲁普试验中，回避条件下的参与者比趋近条件下的参与者犯错显著更少。在研究2中，调查了任务转换范式中的表现差异。关键的是，通过在4个试验块中交替进行趋近和回避动作，在受试者内部对趋近和回避动作进行了操控。与趋近动作相比，执行回避动作时的时间转换成本显著更低。这些结果支持了我们的假设，即相对于趋近线索，回避线索会使认知控制任务的表现得到改善。
