University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Psychol Res. 2024 Oct;88(7):2059-2079. doi: 10.1007/s00426-024-02009-9. Epub 2024 Jul 30.
In four experiments, we investigated the impact of outcomes and processing mode (free versus forced) on subsequent voluntary task-switching behavior. Participants freely chose between two tasks or were forced to perform one, and the feedback they received randomly varied after correct performance (reward or no-reward; loss or no-loss). In general, we reasoned that the most recently applied task goal is usually the most valued one, leading people to prefer task repetitions over switches. However, the task values might be additionally biased by previous outcomes and the previous processing mode. Indeed, negatively reinforcing tasks with no-reward or losses generally resulted in more subsequent switches. Additionally, participants demonstrated a stronger attachment to free- compared to forced-tasks, as indicated by more switches when the previous task was forced, suggesting that people generally value free over forced-choice task goals. Moreover, the reward manipulation had a greater influence on switching behavior following free- compared to forced-tasks in Exp. 1 and Exp. 3, suggesting a stronger emphasis on evaluating rewarding outcomes associated with free-task choices. However, this inflationary effect on task choice seemed to be limited to reward and situations where task choice and performance more strongly overlap. Specifically, there was no evidence that switching behavior was differentially influenced after free-and forced-task as a function of losses (Exp. 2) or reward when task choice and task performance were separated (Exp. 4). Overall, the results provide new insights into how the valuation of task goals based on choice freedom and outcome feedback can influence voluntary task choices.
在四项实验中，我们研究了结果和处理模式（自由选择与强制选择）对后续自愿任务转换行为的影响。参与者可以自由选择两个任务中的一个，或者被迫执行一个任务，并且他们在正确执行后收到的反馈是随机变化的（奖励或无奖励；损失或无损失）。一般来说，我们的推理是，最近应用的任务目标通常是最有价值的，这导致人们更喜欢任务重复而不是任务转换。然而，任务价值可能会受到之前的结果和之前的处理模式的额外影响。实际上，对无奖励或损失的任务进行负强化通常会导致更多的后续转换。此外，与强制任务相比，参与者对自由任务表现出更强的依恋，因为当之前的任务是强制的时，会有更多的转换，这表明人们通常更看重自由选择的任务目标。此外，在实验 1 和实验 3 中，奖励操纵对自由任务后的转换行为的影响大于强制任务，这表明人们更加强调评估与自由任务选择相关的奖励结果。然而，这种对任务选择的膨胀效应似乎仅限于奖励和任务选择和表现更强烈重叠的情况。具体来说，没有证据表明自由和强制任务后的转换行为会根据损失（实验 2）或任务选择和任务表现分离时的奖励（实验 4）而有所不同。总的来说，这些结果提供了新的见解，说明基于选择自由和结果反馈的任务目标的评估如何影响自愿任务选择。
