Aust Rouven, Weis Patrick P, Kunde Wilfried
Department of Psychology, University of Würzburg, Röntgenring 11, Würzburg, 97070, Germany.
Psychol Res. 2025 Oct 15;89(5):154. doi: 10.1007/s00426-025-02186-1.
Minimizing effort is a principle widely accepted to govern human behavior. We revisited this principle in an extended rotation paradigm. Participants freely chose to solve an object comparison task by either mental or manual rotation of one of two simultaneously presented objects. We manipulated the required force of manual rotation, stimulus complexity, as well as the angular mismatch between both objects, while carefully eliminating confounds of physical effort with time. Our study revealed that both physical and mental effort affect strategy choice. Additionally, strategy choice in a certain trial was influenced by error commissions in the previous trial. These error-induced strategy switches were asymmetric: participants were more inclined to switch following mental than manual rotation errors. Our results suggest that human reactions to error commission when using external tools may differ in a qualitative manner from reactions to error commission during mental endeavors. Theoretical implications are discussed especially in the context of the entanglement of physical effort and time. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Humans possess the ability to solve problems using either mainly mental or physical resources. For example, objects can be rotated in the mind or physically. Here, we show that when comparing the effort associated with both means, they are both considered for decision making. Furthermore, making a mistake seems to evoke different reactions depending on the means with which the error was made. Considering such different costs and benefits is vital for both designing and working in tech-infused environments that support problem solving.
最小化努力是一个被广泛接受的支配人类行为的原则。我们在一个扩展的旋转范式中重新审视了这一原则。参与者可以自由选择通过对同时呈现的两个物体之一进行心理旋转或手动旋转来解决物体比较任务。我们操纵了手动旋转所需的力、刺激的复杂性以及两个物体之间的角度不匹配，同时仔细消除了体力消耗与时间之间的混淆因素。我们的研究表明，体力和脑力消耗都会影响策略选择。此外，某一试验中的策略选择会受到前一试验中错误发生情况的影响。这些错误引发的策略转换是不对称的：参与者在心理旋转错误后比在手动旋转错误后更倾向于转换策略。我们的结果表明，人类在使用外部工具时对错误发生的反应可能在性质上与心理活动中对错误发生的反应不同。我们特别在体力消耗与时间纠缠的背景下讨论了理论意义。公共意义声明：人类具备使用主要是脑力或体力资源来解决问题的能力。例如，可以在脑海中或实际中旋转物体。在这里，我们表明，在比较与这两种方式相关的努力时，两者都会在决策时被考虑。此外，犯错似乎会根据犯错的方式引发不同的反应。考虑到这些不同的成本和收益对于设计和工作在支持问题解决的技术融合环境中至关重要。
