Abstract
Recent research reveals that when faced with alternative lines of action, humans tend to choose the less cognitively demanding one, suggesting that cognitive control is intrinsically registered as costly. This idea is further supported by studies showing that the exertion of cognitive control evokes negative affective states. Despite extensive evidence for mood-induced modulations on control abilities, the impact of affective states on the avoidance of cognitive demand is still unknown. Across two well-powered experiments, we tested the hypothesis that negative affective states would increase the avoidance of cognitively demanding tasks. Contrary to our expectations, induced affective states did not modulate the avoidance of demand, despite having an effect on task performance and subjective experience. Altogether, our results indicate that there are limits to the effect of affective signals on cognitive control and that such interaction might depend on specific affective and control settings.
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Notes
A paired Wilcoxon test (a Saphiro-Wilk test of normality revealed a significant deviation from normality, p < 0.001) was performed on RTs of correct switch (M = 1593 ms, SD = 435 ms) and non-switch trials (M = 1111 ms, SD = 269 ms), revealing a significant effect of switching (W71,1 = 75, p < 0.001, effect size = 0.94). An analysis of accuracy scores also revealed a switching effect (W71,1 = 1683, p = 0.002, effect size = 0.28).
The 30 new images were selected to match the valence and arousal values of those presented during the experiment. Specifically, the scores for each dimension of the new images were: Positive [valence = 6.84, SD = 0.35; arousal = 6.42, SD = 0.89]; Negative [valence = 2.44, SD = 0.65; arousal = 6.01, SD = 0.75]; Neutral [valence = 4.73, SD = 0.46; arousal = 3.77, SD = 0.54].
A paired Wilcoxon test (a Saphiro-Wilk test of normality revealed a significant deviation from normality, p < 0.001) was performed on the reaction times (RTs) of correct switch (M = 1407 ms, SD = 348 ms) and non-switch trials (M = 1000 ms, SD = 209 ms), revealing a significant effect of switching (W71,1 = 75, p < 0.001, effect size = 1). An analysis of accuracy scores also revealed a switching effect (W71,1 = 1842, p < 0.001, effect size = 0.4).
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Acknowledgements
C.G.G. and M.R. were supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (PSI2016-78236-P). C.G.G. was additionally supported by the Special Research Fund of Ghent University BOF.GOA.2017.0002.03. We thank Senne Braem for helpful comments on previous versions of the manuscript.
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González-García, C., García-Carrión, B., López-Benítez, R. et al. Induced affective states do not modulate effort avoidance. Psychological Research 85, 1016–1028 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-020-01300-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-020-01300-9