scholarly journals Measuring vulnerability to depression: The Serbian scrambled sentences test - SSST

Psihologija ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zdenka Novovic ◽  
Ljiljana Mihic ◽  
Miklos Biro ◽  
Snezana Tovilovic
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Bias ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Cognitive Effort ◽  
Reliable Measure ◽  
Digit Number ◽  
Reliable Instrument ◽  
Suppression Tendency

The goal of this study was to establish whether the SSST, a Serbian language scrambled sentences instrument, is a reliable measure of depressive cognitive bias, and whether it captures the suppression tendency as participants exert the additional cognitive effort of memorizing a six-digit number while completing the task. The sample consisted of 1071 students, randomly assigned into two groups. They completed the SSST divided into two blocks of 28 sentences, together with additional cognitive task during either the first or second block, and after that a number of instruments to establish validity of the SSST. The test was shown to be a reliable instrument of depressive cognitive bias. As a measure of suppression the SSST performed partly as expected, only when load was applied in the second half of the test, and fatigue and cognitive effort enhanced suppression. The advantages of the test versus self-description measures were discussed.

Perceived Difficulty and Motivated Cognitive Effort in a Computer-Simulated Forest Firefighting Task

1994 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary M. Omodei ◽  
Alexander J. Wearing
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Cognitive Effort ◽  
Expectancy Value ◽  
Psychological Phenomena ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
Perceived Difficulty ◽  
Research Designs

Two studies ( ns 28 and 55) were conducted to investigate the extent to which proposed relationships between perceived difficulty and motivated cognitive effort generalise to realistic, complex, ill-defined, ongoing situations. A computerised microworld generator, Fire Chief, was used to create an appropriate cognitive task. Using complementary research designs, no significant relationships were obtained between either perceived difficulty or proximity to preferred difficulty and on-task motivated cognitive effort assessed by self-referent importance, intended effort, and subjectively felt arousal. The implications of these findings for expectancy-value approaches to motivation are discussed. Attention is drawn to the extent to which the two studies illustrate the use of the Fire Chief microworld generator for the investigation of psychological phenomena.

scholarly journals Effective Gamification of the Stop-Signal Task: Two Controlled Laboratory Experiments (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maximilian Achim Friehs ◽  
Martin Dechant ◽  
Sarah Vedress ◽  
Christian Frings ◽  
Regan Lee Mandryk
Keyword(s):  
Data Quality ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Objective Assessment ◽  
Cognitive Effort ◽  
Stop Signal ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Stop Signal Task ◽  
Participant Engagement ◽  
Task Instructions ◽  
Prepotent Responses

BACKGROUND A lack of ability to inhibit prepotent responses, or more generally a lack of impulse control, is associated with several disorders such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and schizophrenia as well as general damage to the prefrontal cortex. A stop-signal task (SST) is a reliable and established measure of response inhibition. However, using the SST as an objective assessment in diagnostic or research-focused settings places significant stress on participants as the task itself requires concentration and cognitive effort and is not particularly engaging. This can lead to decreased motivation to follow task instructions and poor data quality, which can affect assessment efficacy and might increase drop-out rates. Gamification—the application of game-based elements in nongame settings—has shown to improve engaged attention to a cognitive task, thus increasing participant motivation and data quality. OBJECTIVE This study aims to design a gamified SST that improves participants’ engagement and validate this gamified SST against a standard SST. METHODS We described the design of our gamified SST and reported on 2 separate studies that aim to validate the gamified SST relative to a standard SST. In study 1, a within-subject design was used to compare the performance of the SST and a stop-signal game (SSG). In study 2, we added eye tracking to the procedure to determine if overt attention was affected and aimed to replicate the findings from study 1 in a between-subjects design. Furthermore, in both studies, flow and motivational experiences were measured. RESULTS In contrast, the behavioral performance was comparable between the tasks (<i>P</i>&lt;.87; BF01=2.87), and the experience of flow and intrinsic motivation were rated higher in the SSG group, although this difference was not significant. CONCLUSIONS Overall, our findings provide evidence that the gamification of SST is possible and that the SSG is enjoyed more. Thus, when participant engagement is critical, we recommend using the SSG instead of the SST.

The Case of the Cognitive (Opti)miser: Electrophysiological Correlates of Working Memory Maintenance Predict Demand Avoidance

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (8) ◽  
pp. 1550-1561
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Nador ◽  
Assaf Harel ◽  
Ion Juvina ◽  
Brandon Minnery
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Cognitive Effort ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Match To Sample ◽  
Irrelevant Distractors ◽  
Filtering Efficiency ◽  
Task Irrelevant

People are often considered cognitive misers. When given a free choice between two tasks, people tend to choose tasks requiring less cognitive effort. Such demand avoidance (DA) is associated with cognitive control, but it is still not clear to what extent individual differences in cognitive control can account for variations in DA. We sought to elucidate the relation between cognitive control and cognitive effort preferences by investigating the extent to which sustained neural activity in a task requiring cognitive control is correlated with DA. We hypothesized that neural measures of efficient filtering will predict individual variations in demand preferences. To test this hypothesis, we had participants perform a delayed-match-to-sample paradigm with their ERPs recorded, as well as a separate behavioral demand-selection task. We focused on the ERP correlates of cognitive filtering efficiency (CFE)—the ability to ignore task-irrelevant distractors during working memory maintenance—as it manifests in a modulation of the contralateral delay activity, an ERP correlate of cognitive control. As predicted, we found a significant positive correlation between CFE and DA. Individuals with high CFE tended to be significantly more demand avoidant than their low-CFE counterparts. Low-CFE individuals, in comparison, did not form distinct cognitive effort preferences. Overall, our results suggest that cognitive control over the contents of visual working memory contribute to individual differences in the expression of cognitive effort preferences. This further implies that these observed preferences are the product of sensitivity to cognitive task demands.

scholarly journals Effective Gamification of the Stop-Signal Task: Two Controlled Laboratory Experiments

10.2196/17810 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. e17810 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maximilian Achim Friehs ◽  
Martin Dechant ◽  
Sarah Vedress ◽  
Christian Frings ◽  
Regan Lee Mandryk
Keyword(s):  
Data Quality ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Objective Assessment ◽  
Cognitive Effort ◽  
Stop Signal ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Stop Signal Task ◽  
Participant Engagement ◽  
Task Instructions ◽  
Prepotent Responses

Background A lack of ability to inhibit prepotent responses, or more generally a lack of impulse control, is associated with several disorders such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and schizophrenia as well as general damage to the prefrontal cortex. A stop-signal task (SST) is a reliable and established measure of response inhibition. However, using the SST as an objective assessment in diagnostic or research-focused settings places significant stress on participants as the task itself requires concentration and cognitive effort and is not particularly engaging. This can lead to decreased motivation to follow task instructions and poor data quality, which can affect assessment efficacy and might increase drop-out rates. Gamification—the application of game-based elements in nongame settings—has shown to improve engaged attention to a cognitive task, thus increasing participant motivation and data quality. Objective This study aims to design a gamified SST that improves participants’ engagement and validate this gamified SST against a standard SST. Methods We described the design of our gamified SST and reported on 2 separate studies that aim to validate the gamified SST relative to a standard SST. In study 1, a within-subject design was used to compare the performance of the SST and a stop-signal game (SSG). In study 2, we added eye tracking to the procedure to determine if overt attention was affected and aimed to replicate the findings from study 1 in a between-subjects design. Furthermore, in both studies, flow and motivational experiences were measured. Results In contrast, the behavioral performance was comparable between the tasks (P<.87; BF01=2.87), and the experience of flow and intrinsic motivation were rated higher in the SSG group, although this difference was not significant. Conclusions Overall, our findings provide evidence that the gamification of SST is possible and that the SSG is enjoyed more. Thus, when participant engagement is critical, we recommend using the SSG instead of the SST.

scholarly journals A Novel Pupillometric Method for Indexing Word Difficulty in Individuals With and Without Aphasia

2015 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 1508-1520 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura R. Chapman ◽  
Brooke Hallowell
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Cognitive Effort ◽  
Pupil Dilation ◽  
Assessment Methods ◽  
Linguistic Processing ◽  
Pupillary Responses ◽  
Assessment And Treatment ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Word Difficulty

Purpose Cognitive effort is a clinically important facet of linguistic processing that is often overlooked in the assessment and treatment of people with aphasia (PWA). Furthermore, there is a paucity of valid ways to index cognitive effort in PWA. The construct of cognitive effort has been indexed for decades via pupillometry (measurement of pupil dilation and constriction during a cognitive task), yet pupillometry has not been implemented in studies including PWA. In the present study, we tested a novel method for indexing cognitive effort during linguistic processing in people with and without aphasia. Method Forty control participants and 39 PWA listened to semantically easy and difficult single nouns and looked at images while their pupillary responses were monitored. Mean pupil dilation in response to easy versus difficult nouns was calculated to index cognitive effort. Results Larger mean pupil dilation values were obtained for difficult compared with easy nouns for both groups. Conclusion Results provide preliminary evidence that pupillometry can be used to index cognitive effort during linguistic processing of single nouns in people with and without aphasia. Methods for indexing cognitive effort will be a valuable addition to existing assessment methods. Suggestions for further research are offered.

scholarly journals Attention, Not Performance, Correlates With Afterdischarge Termination During Cortical Stimulation

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald P. Lesser ◽  
W. R. S. Webber ◽  
Diana L. Miglioretti ◽  
Yuko Mizuno-Matsumoto ◽  
Ayumi Muramatsu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Mapping ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Cognitive Effort ◽  
Cortical Stimulation ◽  
Functional Responses ◽  
Task Execution ◽  
Functional Regions ◽  
Functional Localization ◽  
Brain Changes

Cortical stimulation has been used for brain mapping for over a century, and a standard assumption is that stimulation interferes with task execution due to local effects at the stimulation site. Stimulation can however produce afterdischarges which interfere with functional localization and can lead to unwanted seizures. We previously showed that (a) cognitive effort can terminate these afterdischarges, (b) when termination thus occurs, there are electrocorticography changes throughout the cortex, not just at sites with afterdischarges or sites thought functionally important for the cognitive task used, and (c) thresholds for afterdischarges and functional responses can change among stimulation trials. We here show that afterdischarge termination can occur prior to overt performance of the cognitive tasks used to terminate them. These findings, taken together, demonstrate that task-related brain changes are not limited to one or a group of functional regions or a specific network, and not limited to the time directly surrounding overt task execution. Discrete locations, networks and times importantly underpin clinical behaviors. However, brain activity that is diffuse in location and extended in time also affect task execution and can affect brain mapping. This may in part reflect fluctuating levels of attention, engagement, or motivation during testing.

scholarly journals Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger? The Relationship between Cognitive Task Demands in Video Games and Recovery Experiences

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 166-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Wulf ◽  
Diana Rieger ◽  
Anna Sophie Kümpel ◽  
Leonard Reinecke
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Interactive Media ◽  
Cognitive Effort ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Task Demand ◽  
Psychological Detachment ◽  
Recovery Experiences ◽  
And Control

Research has repeatedly demonstrated that the use of interactive media is associated with recovery experiences, suggesting that engaging with media can help people to alleviate stress and restore mental and physical resources. Video games, in particular, have been shown to fulfil various aspects of recovery, not least due to their ability to elicit feelings of mastery and control. However, little is known about the role of cognitive task demand (i.e., the amount of cognitive effort a task requires) in that process. Toward this end, our study aimed to investigate how cognitive task demand during gameplay affects users’ recovery experiences. Results of a laboratory experiment suggest that different dimensions of the recovery experiences seem to respond to different levels of cognitive task demand. While control experiences were highest under low cognitive task demand, there was no difference between groups regarding experiences of mastery and psychological detachment. Nevertheless, both gaming conditions outperformed the control condition regarding experiences of mastery and psychological detachment. Controlling for personal gaming experiences, relaxation was higher in the low cognitive task demand condition compared to the control condition. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for research on the multilayered recovery effects of interactive media.

scholarly journals Reward sensitivity following boredom and cognitive effort: A high-powered neurophysiological investigation

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Milyavskaya ◽  
Michael Inzlicht ◽  
Travis Johnson ◽  
Michael Larson
Keyword(s):  
Affective State ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Ego Depletion ◽  
Cognitive Effort ◽  
Reward Sensitivity ◽  
Digit Number ◽  
Feedback Negativity ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Subsequent Task ◽  
Immediate Response

AbstractWhat do people feel like doing after they have exerted cognitive effort or are bored? Here, we empirically test whether people are drawn to rewards (at the neural level) following cognitive effort and when bored. This elucidates the experiences and consequences of engaging in cognitive effort, and compares it to the consequences of experiencing boredom, an affective state with predicted similar motivational consequences. Event-related potentials were recorded after participants (N=243) were randomized into one of three conditions – boredom (observing strings of numbers), cognitive effort (adding 3 to each digit of a four-digit number), or control. In the subsequent task, we focused on the feedback negativity (FN) to assess the brain’s immediate response to the presence or absence of reward. Phenomenologically, participants in the boredom condition reported more fatigue than those in the cognitive effort condition. Results suggest participants in the boredom condition exhibited larger FN amplitude than participants in the control condition, while the cognitive effort condition was neither different from boredom nor control. The neural and methodological implications for ego depletion research, including issues of replicability, are discussed.

scholarly journals Psychometric properties of the SV-RES Resilience Scale in Mexican women with breast cancer

Salud Mental ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-99
Author(s):  
Sol Durand-Arias ◽  
Daniel Roldán-Hinojosa ◽  
Ricardo Orozco ◽  
Jazmín Mora-Ríos
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Psychometric Properties ◽  
Cancer Diagnosis ◽  
Care Center ◽  
Breast Cancer Diagnosis ◽  
Mexican Women ◽  
Reliable Measure ◽  
Healthy Behaviors ◽  
Resilience Scale ◽  
Reliable Instrument

Introduction. Resilience is an adaptation resource for coping with adversity or high risk, in this case, breast cancer diagnosis. The SV-RES Resilience Scale, created in Chile, is a valid, reliable measure for evaluating healthy behaviors in adversity and could be useful for evaluating resources available to women with breast cancer diagnosis in Mexico. Objective. To obtain the psychometric properties of the SV-RES Resilience Scale in Mexican women with breast cancer. Method. 114 women with breast cancer attending a cancer care center were included. They answered the self-administered SV-RES Resilience Scale comprising three resources: “I am,” “I have,” and “I can.” The dimensions of the scale were identified through an exploratory factor analysis. Results. The scale presented overall internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha of .974), with seven dimensions (identity, satisfaction, links, networks, internal strength, self-efficacy, and affectivity/reciprocity) that accounted for 72.75% of the variance. Discussion and conclusion. The SV-RES scale is a valid, reliable measure for assessing resilience in Mexican women with breast cancer. Since it is a short, self-administered, and reliable instrument, it is useful for clinical practice and research in similar populations to identify the resources people have for coping with their medical conditions.

Development and Psychometric Testing of the Mariani Nursing Career Satisfaction Scale

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bette Mariani ◽  
Lois Ryan Allen
Keyword(s):  
Career Satisfaction ◽  
Psychometric Testing ◽  
Semantic Differential ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Validity Index ◽  
Reliable Measure ◽  
Satisfaction Scale ◽  
Reliable Instrument ◽  
Nursing Career ◽  
Combined Data

Background and Purpose: The Mariani Nursing Career Satisfaction Scale© (MNCSS) was developed to explore the influence of mentoring on career satisfaction of registered nurses (RNs). A review of the literature revealed no contemporary valid and reliable measure of career satisfaction. Methods: The MNCSS is a semantic differential of 16 opposite adjective pairs on which participants rate feelings about their nursing career. The MNCSS was used in a pilot study and three major studies exploring career satisfaction of RNs. Validity, reliability, and exploratory factor analysis (FA) were computed to explore the internal structure of the instrument. Results: The newly developed instrument had a content validity index (CVI) of .84 and Cronbach’s alpha internal consistency reliabilities of .93–.96 across three major studies. Exploratory FA (N = 496) revealed a univocal instrument with one factor that explains 57.8% of the variance in career satisfaction scores. Conclusions: The MNCSS is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring career satisfaction. FA of the combined data from three studies yielded one factor that measures the concept of career satisfaction.

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