Decoding the task specificity of post-error adjustments: Features and determinants
Qing Li,
Jing Wang,
Zong Meng,
Yongqiang Chen,
Mengke Zhang,
Na Hu,
Xu Chen,
Antao Chen
Affiliations
Qing Li
Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
Jing Wang
Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China; School of Psychology, Research Center for Exercise and Brain Science, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China; School of Psychology, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, China; State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; School of Preschool & Special Education, Kunming University, Kunming 650214, China
Zong Meng
Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China; School of Psychology, Research Center for Exercise and Brain Science, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China; School of Psychology, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, China; State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; School of Preschool & Special Education, Kunming University, Kunming 650214, China
Yongqiang Chen
Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
Mengke Zhang
Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
Na Hu
Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China; School of Psychology, Research Center for Exercise and Brain Science, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China; School of Psychology, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, China; State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; School of Preschool & Special Education, Kunming University, Kunming 650214, China
Xu Chen
Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
Antao Chen
School of Psychology, Research Center for Exercise and Brain Science, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China; Corresponding author.
Errors typically trigger post-error adjustments aimed at improving subsequent reactions within a single task, but little work has focused on whether these adjustments are task-general or task-specific across different tasks. We collected behavioral and electrophysiological (EEG) data when participants performed a psychological refractory period paradigm. This paradigm required them to complete Task 1 and Task 2 separated by a variable stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA). Behaviorally, post-error slowing and post-error accuracy exhibited task-general features at short SOAs but some task-specific features at long SOAs. EEG results manifest that task-general adjustments had a short-lived effect, whereas task-specific adjustments were long-lasting. Moreover, error awareness specifically conduced to the improvement of subsequent sensory processing and behavior performance in Task 1 (the task where errors occurred). These findings demonstrate that post-error adjustments rely on both transient, task-general interference and longer-lasting, task-specific control mechanisms simultaneously, with error awareness playing a crucial role in determining these mechanisms. We further discuss the contribution of central resources to the task specificity of post-error adjustments.
