University of Freiburg, Germany.
University of Regensburg, Germany.
Int J Psychophysiol. 2019 Dec;146:208-216. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2019.10.003. Epub 2019 Oct 21.
According to feedback control models, errors are monitored and inform subsequent control adaptations. Despite these cognitive consequences, errors also have affective consequences. It has been suggested that errors elicit negative affect which might be functional for control adaptations. The present research is concerned with the temporal dynamics of error-related affect. Therefore, we ask how affective responses to errors change over time. Two experiments assessed performance in a Stroop-like task in combination with online measures of facial electromyography that index affective responses specific for muscles that are associated with the expression of negative (corrugator supercilii) and positive affect (zygomaticus major). After errors, corrugator activity first increased relative to correct trials but then decreased (below correct trials) for later time bins. Zygomaticus activity showed a concomitant inverse pattern following errors, such that an initial decrease was followed by a later increase relative to correct trials. Together, this biphasic response in both facial muscles suggests that early negative responses to errors turn into increasingly more positive ones over time. Error-triggered electromyography did marginally predict behavioral adjustments following errors at the inter-individual, but not at the intra-individual level, providing only limited evidence for a functional role of error-related affect for immediate changes in behavior. However, the dynamics of error-related electromyography points to the role of implicit emotion regulation during task performance. We propose that this process helps to maintain homeostasis of positive and negative affect which in the long term could facilitate adaptive behavior.
根据反馈控制模型，错误会被监测，并为后续的控制调整提供信息。尽管有这些认知后果，但错误也有情感后果。有人认为，错误会引起负性情绪，而这种情绪可能对控制适应是有功能的。本研究关注的是与错误相关的情感的时间动态。因此，我们要问的是，对错误的情感反应是如何随时间变化的。两个实验在类似于 Stroop 的任务中评估了表现，同时在线测量了面部肌电图，这些肌电图指标可以反映与表达负性（皱眉肌）和正性（颧大肌）情绪相关的肌肉的情感反应。在错误之后，皱眉肌的活动首先相对于正确的试验而增加，但随后在后面的时间箱中减少（低于正确的试验）。颧大肌的活动随后出现了相应的反向模式，即最初的减少后，相对于正确的试验，后来又增加了。这两种面部肌肉的双相反应表明，对错误的早期负性反应随着时间的推移逐渐转变为更积极的反应。错误引发的肌电图在个体间水平上，而不是在个体内水平上，对错误后行为的调整略有预测，这仅为错误相关情感对行为的即时变化的功能作用提供了有限的证据。然而，错误相关肌电图的动态表明了在任务执行过程中隐性情绪调节的作用。我们提出，这个过程有助于维持积极和消极情绪的平衡，从长远来看，这有助于促进适应性行为。
