Human Technology Interaction, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5612, Eindhoven, AZ, The Netherlands.
Department of Psychology, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, 80799, Munich, Germany.
Sci Rep. 2024 Sep 4;14(1):20657. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-71762-z.
Traditional conflict-based cognitive assessment tools are highly behaviorally restrictive, which prevents them from capturing the dynamic nature of human cognition, such as the tendency to make error-correcting responses. The cognitive game Tunnel Runner measures interference control, response inhibition, and response-rule switching in a less restrictive manner than traditional cognitive assessment tools by giving players movement control after an initial response and encouraging error-correcting responses. Nevertheless, error-correcting responses remain unused due to a limited understanding of what they measure and how to use them. To facilitate the use of error-correcting responses to measure and understand human cognition, we developed theoretically-grounded measures of error-correcting responses in Tunnel Runner and assessed whether they reflected the same cognitive functions measured via initial responses. Furthermore, we evaluated the measurement potential of error-correcting responses. We found that initial and error-correcting responses similarly reflected players' response inhibition and interference control, but not their response-rule switching. Furthermore, combining the two response types increased the reliability of interference control and response inhibition measurements. Lastly, error-correcting responses showed the potential to measure response inhibition on their own. Our results pave the way toward understanding and using post-decision change of mind data for cognitive measurement and other research and application contexts.
传统的基于冲突的认知评估工具在行为上受到高度限制，这使得它们无法捕捉人类认知的动态特性，例如做出纠错反应的倾向。认知游戏“Tunnel Runner”通过在初始反应后给予玩家运动控制并鼓励纠错反应，以比传统认知评估工具更少的限制方式来衡量干扰控制、反应抑制和反应规则转换。然而，由于对它们所衡量的内容以及如何使用它们的理解有限，纠错反应仍然未被充分利用。为了促进使用纠错反应来衡量和理解人类认知，我们在“Tunnel Runner”中开发了基于理论的纠错反应衡量方法，并评估了它们是否反映了通过初始反应衡量的相同认知功能。此外，我们评估了纠错反应的测量潜力。我们发现，初始反应和纠错反应同样反映了玩家的反应抑制和干扰控制，但不能反映他们的反应规则转换。此外，结合两种反应类型可以提高干扰控制和反应抑制测量的可靠性。最后，纠错反应有可能独立地衡量反应抑制。我们的研究结果为理解和使用决策后思维改变数据进行认知测量以及其他研究和应用情境铺平了道路。
