Zwilling Christopher E, Daugherty Ana M, Hillman Charles H, Kramer Arthur F, Cohen Neal J, Barbey Aron K
1Decision Neuroscience Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL USA.
2Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL USA.
NPJ Sci Learn. 2019 Aug 5;4:11. doi: 10.1038/s41539-019-0049-x. eCollection 2019.
A central aim of research in the psychological and decision sciences is to establish interventions that enhance performance, investigating the efficacy of modern approaches to improve human inference and decision-making. Whereas the decision sciences have established interventions to reduce decision biases by promoting strategies for critical thought and reasoning, methods from psychology have instead focused on enhancing cognition through skill-based training of executive functions. Contemporary research in psychology has engaged these operations through multi-modal interventions designed to enhance cognition and physical health through training of executive functions, mindfulness meditation, and physical fitness. Despite the comparable aims of research in the psychological and decision sciences, the efficacy of multi-modal interventions to enhance decision-making remain to be established. We therefore conducted a comprehensive, 16-week, randomized controlled trial (RCT) to investigate this issue, enrolling 160 healthy adults in one of four interventions: (1) high-intensity cardioresistance fitness training (HICRT); (2) HICRT and cognitive training of core executive functions; (3) HICRT and cognitive training, along with mindfulness meditation training; or (4) active control training. The results of our RCT demonstrate that HICRT training and multi-modal interventions that also incorporate cognitive training and mindfulness meditation have beneficial effects on decision-making competence. The observed pattern of findings motivate the application of modern interventions from psychology and cognitive neuroscience to enhance human judgment and decision-making in complex, real-world environments.
心理与决策科学研究的一个核心目标是建立能够提高表现的干预措施，研究现代方法在改善人类推理和决策方面的功效。决策科学已经建立了干预措施，通过推广批判性思维和推理策略来减少决策偏差，而心理学方法则侧重于通过基于技能的执行功能训练来增强认知。当代心理学研究通过多模式干预来进行这些操作，这些干预旨在通过执行功能训练、正念冥想和体育锻炼来增强认知和身体健康。尽管心理与决策科学的研究目标具有可比性，但多模式干预对决策的功效仍有待确定。因此，我们进行了一项为期16周的全面随机对照试验（RCT）来研究这个问题，招募了160名健康成年人参与四种干预措施之一：（1）高强度心肺耐力健身训练（HICRT）；（2）HICRT和核心执行功能的认知训练；（3）HICRT和认知训练，以及正念冥想训练；或（4）主动控制训练。我们的RCT结果表明，HICRT训练以及包含认知训练和正念冥想的多模式干预对决策能力有有益影响。观察到的研究结果模式促使应用心理学和认知神经科学的现代干预措施，以在复杂的现实世界环境中提高人类判断和决策能力。
