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Background/Objectives: Frequent poor dietary choices can have significant consequences. To understand the underlying decision-making processes, most food choice tasks present a binary choice between a tasty but less healthy option and a healthy but less tasty option. It is assumed that people come to a decision by trading off the respective health and taste values. However, it is unclear whether and to what extent food choice goes beyond this. Methods: We use a novel eye-tracking experiment where we compare a typical food choice task (image condition) with an abstract value-based decision-making task using pre-matched percentages of health and taste (text condition; e.g., 10% healthy and 80% tasty) in 78 participants. Results: We find a higher frequency of unhealthy choices and reduced response times in the image condition compared to the text condition, suggesting more impulsive decision making. The eye-tracking analysis shows that, in the text condition, the item corresponding to the subsequent choice receives more attention than the alternative option, whereas in the image condition this only applies to the healthy item. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that decision-making in typical food choice tasks goes beyond a mere value-based trade-off. These differences could be due to the involvement of different attentional processes in typical food choice tasks or due to the modality of stimulus presentation. These results could help to understand why people prefer tasty but unhealthy food options even when health is important to them.

In food choices, conflict arises when choosing between a healthy, but less tasty food item and a tasty, but less healthy food item. The underlying assumption is that people trade-off the health and taste properties of food items to reach a decision. To probe this assumption, we presented food items either as colored images (image condition, e.g. photograph of a granola bar) or as pre-matched percentages of taste and health values (text condition, e.g., 20% healthy and 80% tasty). We recorded choices, response times and electroencephalography activity to calculate mid-frontal theta power as a marker of conflict. At the behavioral level, we found higher response times for healthy compared to unhealthy choices, and for difficult compared to easy decisions in both conditions, indicating the experience of a decision conflict. At the neural level, mid-frontal theta power was higher for healthy choices than unhealthy choices and difficult choices compared to easy choices, but only in the image condition. Those results suggest that either conflict type and/or decision strategies differ between the image and text conditions. The present results can be helpful in understanding how dietary decisions can be influenced towards healthier food choices., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Excessive avoidance is characteristic for anxiety disorders, even when approach would lead to positive outcomes. The process of how such approach-avoidance conflicts are resolved is not sufficiently understood. We examined the temporal dynamics of approach-avoidance in intense fear of spiders. Highly fearful and non-fearful participants chose repeatedly between a fixed no spider/low reward and a spider/high reward option with varying fear (probability of spider presentation) and reward information (reward magnitude). By sequentially presenting fear and reward information, we distinguished whether decisions are dynamically driven by both information (sequential-sampling) or whether the impact of fear information is inhibited (cognitive control). Mouse movements were recorded to assess temporal decision dynamics (i.e., how strongly which information impacts decision preference at which timepoint). Highly fearful participants showed stronger avoidance despite lower gains (i.e., costly avoidance). Time-continuous multiple regression of their mouse movements yielded a stronger impact of fear compared to reward information. Importantly, presenting either information first (fear or reward) enhanced its impact during the early decision process. These findings support sequential sampling of fear and reward information, but not inhibitory control. Hence, pathological avoidance may be characterized by biased evidence accumulation rather than altered cognitive control., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors report no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The concept of self-states is a recurring theme in various psychotherapeutic and counseling methodologies. However, the predominantly unconscious nature of these self-states presents two challenges. Firstly, it renders the process of working with them susceptible to biases and therapeutic suggestions. Secondly, there is skepticism regarding the observability and differentiation of self-states beyond subjective experiences. In this study, we demonstrate the feasibility of eliciting self-states from clients and objectively distinguishing these evoked self-states through the lens of neutral observers. The self-state constellation method, utilized as an embodied approach, facilitated the activation of diverse self-states. External observers then assessed the nonverbal manifestations of affect along three primary dimensions: emotional valence, arousal, and dominance. Our findings indicate that external observers could reliably discern and differentiate individual self-states based on the bodily displayed valence and dominance. However, the ability to distinguish states based on displayed arousal was not evident. Importantly, this distinctiveness of various self-states was not limited to specific individuals but extended across the entire recording sample. Therefore, within the framework of the self-state constellation method, it is evident that individual self-states can be intentionally evoked, and these states can be objectively differentiated beyond the subjective experiences of the client., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Engel et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

According to ideomotor theory, actions are represented, controlled, and retrieved in terms of the perceptual effects that these actions experientially engender. When agents perform a motor action, they observe its subsequent perceptual effects and establish action-effect associations. When they want to achieve this effect at a later time, they use the action-effect associations to preactivate the action by internally activating the effect representation. Ideomotor theory has received extensive support in recent years. To capture this particular effect-based view on action control and goal-directed behavior, we developed IDEONAMIC, an integrative computational model based on dynamic field theory that represents the specific components of the action control process as dynamic neural fields. We show that IDEONAMIC applies conveniently to different types of experimental ideomotor settings, simulates key findings, generates novel predictions from the dynamics of data, and allows reapproaching the underlying cognitive mechanisms from a computational point of view. We encourage the application of IDEONAMIC to more types of ideomotor settings to gain insights into effect-based action control. The model is available at https://osf.io/hbc6n. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Self-controlled dietary decisions, i.e., choosing a healthier food over a tastier one, are a major challenge for many people. Despite the potential profound consequences of frequent poor choices, maintaining a healthy diet proves challenging. This raises the question of how to facilitate self-controlled food decisions to promote healthier choices. The present study compared the influence of implicit and explicit information on food choices and their underlying decision processes. Participants watched two video clips as an implicit manipulation to induce different mindsets. Instructions to focus on either the short-term or long-term consequences of choices served as an explicit manipulation. Participants performed a binary food choice task, including foods with different health and taste values. The choice was made using a computer mouse, whose trajectories we used to calculate the influence of the food properties. Instruction to focus on long-term consequences compared to short-term consequences increased the number of healthy choices, reduced response times for healthy decisions, and increased the influence of health aspects during the decision-making process. The effect of video manipulation showed greater variability. While focusing on long-term consequences facilitated healthy food choices and reduced the underlying decision conflict, the current mindset appeared to have a minor influence.

Reproducible research and open science practices have the potential to accelerate scientific progress by allowing others to reuse research outputs, and by promoting rigorous research that is more likely to yield trustworthy results. However, these practices are uncommon in many fields, so there is a clear need for training that helps and encourages researchers to integrate reproducible research and open science practices into their daily work. Here, we outline eleven strategies for making training in these practices the norm at research institutions. The strategies, which emerged from a virtual brainstorming event organized in collaboration with the German Reproducibility Network, are concentrated in three areas: (i) adapting research assessment criteria and program requirements; (ii) training; (iii) building communities. We provide a brief overview of each strategy, offer tips for implementation, and provide links to resources. We also highlight the importance of allocating resources and monitoring impact. Our goal is to encourage researchers - in their roles as scientists, supervisors, mentors, instructors, and members of curriculum, hiring or evaluation committees - to think creatively about the many ways they can promote reproducible research and open science practices in their institutions., Competing Interests: FK, SA, AB, SF, TH, VH, CH, FA, RB, AB, NB, BC, LC, AE, KE, MF, CF, MF, AG, KG, DG, LH, MH, MI, SI, LK, MK, LK, AK, FL, DM, CM, AM, CN, HN, FP, AP, CP, RR, JR, JR, AS, SS, ES, LS, VS, MW, CW, JZ, DZ, PZ, TW No competing interests declared, (© 2023, Kohrs et al.)

Objective: The capacity of individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN) to forgo immediate food rewards in their long-term pursuit of thinness is thought to reflect elevated self-control and/or abnormal reward sensitivity. Prior research attempted to capture an increased tendency to delay gratification in AN using delay-discounting tasks that assess how rapidly the subjective value of rewards decreases as a function of time until receipt. However, significant effects were mostly subtle or absent. Here, we tested whether the process leading to such decisions might be altered in AN., Method: We recorded mouse-cursor movement trajectories leading to the final choice in a computerized delay-discounting task (238 trials) in 55 acutely underweight females with AN and pairwise age-matched female healthy controls (HC). We tested for group differences in deviations from a direct choice path, a measure of conflict strength in decision making, and whether group moderated the effect of several predictors of conflict strength (e.g., choice difficulty, consistency). We also explored reaction times and changes in trajectory directions (X-flips)., Results: No group differences in delay-discounting parameters or movement trajectories were detected. However, the effect of the aforementioned predictors on deviations (and to a lesser extent reaction times) was reduced in AN., Discussion: These findings suggest that while delay discounting and conflict strength in decision making are generally unaltered in AN, conflict strength was more stable across different decisions in the disorder. This might enable individuals with AN to pursue (maladaptive) long-term body-weight goals, because particularly conflicting choices may not be experienced as such., Public Significance: The deviations from a direct path of mouse-cursor movements during a computerized delay-discounting task varied less in people with anorexia nervosa. Assuming such deviations measure decision conflict, we speculate that this increased stability might help people with anorexia nervosa achieve their long-term weight goals, as for them the struggle with the decision to eat high-calorie meals when hungry will be milder, so they would be more likely to skip them., (© 2023 The Authors. International Journal of Eating Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Approach-avoidance conflict is observed in the competing motivations towards the benefits and away from the costs of a decision. The current study investigates the action dynamics of response motion during such conflicts in an attempt to characterise their dynamic resolution. An approach-avoidance conflict was generated by varying the appetitive consequences of a decision (i.e., point rewards and shorter participation time) in the presence of simultaneous aversive consequences (i.e., shock probability). Across two experiments, approach-avoidance conflict differentially affected response trajectories. Approach trajectories were less complex than avoidance trajectories and, as approach and avoidance motivations neared equipotentiality, response trajectories were more deflected from the shortest route to the eventual choice. Consistency in the location of approach and avoidance response options reduced variability in performance enabling more sensitive estimates of dynamic conflict. The time course of competing influences on response trajectories including trial-to-trial effects and conflict between approach and avoidance were estimated using regression analyses. We discuss these findings in terms of a dynamic theory of approach-avoidance that we hope will lead to insights of practical relevance in the field of maladaptive avoidance.

In the present study, we used mouse tracking to investigate two processes underlying prospective memory (PM) retrieval: First, we aimed to explore to what extent spontaneous retrieval of already completed PM intentions is supported by reflexive-associative and discrepancy-plus-search processes. Second, we aimed to disentangle whether costs to an ongoing task during the pursuit of a PM intention are associated with presumably resource-demanding monitoring processes or with a presumably resource-sparing strategic delay of ongoing-task responses. Our third aim was to explore the interaction of processes underlying costs to the ongoing task and processes of spontaneous retrieval. Our analyses replicated response-time patterns from previous studies indicating aftereffects of completed intentions and costs to ongoing-task performance, as well as increased aftereffects while pursuing a PM intention. Notably, based on our mouse-tracking analyses, we argue that aftereffects of completed intentions are best explained by a reflexive initiation of an already completed intention. If the completed intention is not performed in its entirety (i.e., no commission error), the reflexive initiation of the completed intention is followed by a subsequent movement correction that most likely represents a time-consuming response-verification process. Regarding performance costs in the ongoing task, our analyses suggest that actively pursuing a PM intention most likely leads to a strategic delay of ongoing activities. Lastly, we found that pursuing a novel PM task after intention completion exacerbated orienting responses to all deviant stimuli, exacerbated the readiness to initiate the completed intention reflexively, and substantially prolonged the response-verification process following this reflexive intention retrieval., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Deciding together is common in our everyday life. However, the process of this joint decision-making plays out across different levels, for example language, intonation, or non-verbal behaviour. Here we focused on non-verbal interaction dynamics between two participants in probability discounting. We applied a gamified decision-making task in which participants performed a series of choices between a small but safe and a large but risky reward. In two experiments, we found that joint decision-making resulted in lower discounting and higher efficiency. In order to understand the underlying mechanisms in greater detail, we studied through which process this variation occurred and whether this process would be modulated by the social distance between both participants. Our findings suggested that socially close participants managed to reduce their discounting by interactive processes while socially distant participants were influenced by the social context itself. However, a higher level of efficiency was achieved through interactive processes for both groups. In summary, this study served as a fine-grained investigation of collaborative interaction processes and its significant impact on the outcome of choices with probabilistic consequences., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The tendency to devaluate delayed rewards, a phenomenon referred to as 'discounting behaviour', has been studied by wide-ranging research examining individuals choosing between sooner but smaller or later but larger rewards. Despite the fact that many real-life choices are embedded in a social context, the question of whether or not social collaboration can have an impact on such choices has not been addressed empirically. With this research, we aimed to fill this gap experimentally by implementing a novel choice selection procedure in order to study the interactive dynamics between two participants. This selection procedure allowed us to dissect the sequence of decision-making into its elements, starting from the very first individual preference to the solution of possible conflicting preferences in the dyad. In Experiment 1, we studied group decision-making on classical intertemporal choices to reveal the possible benefit of social collaboration on discounting and identified that the knowledge of the social situation in collective decision-making causes a reduction in discounting. In a pre-registered Experiment 2, we compared classical intertemporal choices with choices in a gamified version of a discounting paradigm in which the participants had a real-time experience trial by trial and for which a normative reference was present. We found that collective decision-making had a substantial impact on intertemporal decision-making, but was shaped by different types of choices. Classical intertemporal choices were rather susceptible to the contextual factors of decision-making, whereas in the gamified version that included a normative reference the decisions were reliably influenced by social collaboration and resulted in a lower discounting. The results in this paradigm replicate our original findings from former research., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Conflicts between avoiding feared stimuli versus approaching them for competing rewards are essential for functional behavior and anxious psychopathology. Yet, little is known about the underlying decision process. We examined approach-avoidance decisions and their temporal dynamics when avoiding Pavlovian fear stimuli conflicted with gaining rewards. First, a formerly neutral stimulus (CS+) was repeatedly paired with an aversive stimulus (US) to establish Pavlovian fear. Another stimulus (CS-) was never paired with the US. A control group received neutral tones instead of aversive USs. Next, in each of 324 trials, participants chose between a CS-/low reward and a CS+/high reward option. For the latter, probability of CS+ presentation (Pavlovian fear information) and reward magnitude (reward information) varied. Computer mouse movements were tracked to capture the decision dynamics. Although no more USs occurred, pronounced and persistent costly avoidance of the Pavlovian fear CS+ was found. Time-continuous multiple regression of movement trajectories revealed a stronger and faster impact of Pavlovian fear compared to reward information during decision-making. The impact of fear information, but not reward information, modestly decreased across trials. These findings suggest a persistently stronger weighting of fear compared to reward information during approach-avoidance decisions, which may facilitate the development of pathological avoidance., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Every day, we make many value-based decisions where we weigh the value of options with other properties, e.g. their time of delivery. In the laboratory, such value-based decision-making is usually studied on a trial by trial basis and each decision is assumed to represent an isolated choice process. Real-life decisions however are usually embedded in a rich context of previous choices at different time scales. A fundamental question is therefore how the dynamics of value-based decision processes unfold on a time scale across several decisions. Indeed, findings from perceptual decision making suggest that sequential decisions patterns might also be present for vale-based decision making. Here, we use a neural-inspired attractor model as an instance of dynamic models from perceptual decision making, as such models incorporate inherent activation dynamics across decisions. We use the model to predict sequential patterns, namely oscillatory switching, perseveration and dependence of perseveration on the delay between decisions. Furthermore, we predict RT effects for specific sequences of trials. We validate the predictions in two new studies and a reanalysis of existing data from a novel decision game in which participants have to perform delay discounting decisions. Applying the validated reasoning to a well-established choice questionnaire, we illustrate and discuss that taking sequential choice patterns into account may be necessary to accurately analyse and model value-based decision processes, especially when considering differences between individuals., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Mid-frontal theta is a sensitive marker for cognitive conflict. However, most research focuses on cognitive control paradigms (e.g., the Flanker task). Here, we ask if mid-frontal theta is also sensitive to response conflicts within value-based decision-making. We recorded electroencephalography activity during a value-based binary decision task. In this task, participants collected rewards in a virtual two-dimensional world. In each trial, we presented two reward options that were either quick to collect but were smaller in value, or took longer to collect but were larger in value. The subjective value of each option was driven by the options' value and how quickly it could be reached. We used this task to investigate three types of potential conflicts: choice ambiguity, choice repetitions, and temporal delay. We manipulated choice ambiguity by varying the subjective values of the decision options. For choice repetition, we biased participants toward one option for two trials and then tested how that affected the subsequent decision. We manipulated temporal delay by making one option quick to collect and one longer to collect. The behavioral results showed the expected effects: Decision times were shorter for unambiguous choices, participants showed a tendency to repeat the previous choice and decision times were shorter for repetitions, and decision times were shorter for earlier available choices. Response-locked mid-frontal theta power was increased for choice switches as compared to choice repetitions, and for the later available as compared to the earlier available option, but we found no effect of ambiguity., (© 2021 Massachusetts Institute of Technology.)

In value-based decision making, people have to weigh different options based on their subjective value. This process, however, also is influenced by choice biases, such as choice repetition: in a series of choices, people are more likely to repeat their decision than to switch to a different choice. Previously, it was shown that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can affect such choice biases. We applied tDCS over the medial prefrontal cortex to investigate whether tDCS can alter choice repetition in value-based decision making. In a preregistered study, we applied anodal, cathodal, and sham tDCS stimulation to 52 participants. While we found robust choice repetition effects, we did not find support for an effect of tDCS stimulation. We discuss these findings within the larger scope of the tDCS literature and highlight the potential roles of interindividual variability and current density strength., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Mouse cursor tracking has become a prominent method for characterizing cognitive processes, used in a wide variety of domains of psychological science. Researchers have demonstrated considerable ingenuity in the application of the approach, but the methodology has not undergone systematic analysis to facilitate the development of best practices. Furthermore, recent research has demonstrated effects of experimental design features on a number of mousetracking outcomes. We conducted a systematic review of the mouse-tracking literature to survey the reporting and spread of mouse variables (Cursor speed, Sampling rate, Training), physical characteristics of the experiments (Stimulus position, Response box position) and response requirements (Start procedure, Response procedure, Response deadline). This survey reveals that there is room for improvement in reporting practices, especially of subtler design features that researchers may have assumed would not impact research results (e.g., Cursor speed). We provide recommendations for future best practices in mouse-tracking studies and consider how best to standardize the mouse-tracking literature without excessively constraining the methodological flexibility that is essential to the field.

In real life, decisions are often naturally embedded in decision sequences. In contrast, in the laboratory, decisions are oftentimes analysed in isolation. Here, we investigated the influence of decision sequences in value-based decision making and whether the stability of such effects can be modulated. In our decision task, participants needed to collect rewards in a virtual two-dimensional world. We presented a series of two reward options that were either quick to collect but were smaller in value or took longer to collect but were larger in value. The subjective value of each option was driven by the options' value and how quickly they could be reached. We manipulated the subjective values of the options so that one option became gradually less valuable over the course of a sequence, which allowed us to measure choice perseveration (i.e., how long participants stick to this option). In two experiments, we further manipulated the time interval between two trials (inter-trial interval), and the time delay between the onsets of both reward options (stimulus onset asynchrony). We predicted how these manipulations would affect choice perseveration using a computational attractor model. Our results indicate that both the inter-trial interval and the stimulus onset asynchrony modulate choice perseveration as predicted by the model. We discuss how our findings extend to research on cognitive stability and flexibility.

Background and Aims: Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is associated with impaired inhibitory control and more impulsive decision-making. However, it remains unclear whether these associations are cross-sectional or predictive. We aimed to test the hypotheses that lower inhibitory control and more impulsive decision-making correlate with, are predicted by and predict more time spent on gaming and higher IGD severity., Methods: A stratified convenience sample of 70 male participants (18-21 years) was recruited to achieve broad data variability for hours spent on gaming and IGD severity. In three annual assessments (T1, T2, T3), we measured gaming behaviour and IGD severity using the Video Game Dependency Scale (CSAS-II). Both gaming-related measures were correlates (T1), predictors (T2), or outcomes (T3) of inhibitory control and decision making, which were assessed at T2 using a go/no-go task and an intertemporal-choice task, respectively., Results: Higher IGD severity at T1 predicted more impulsive decision-making at T2 (β = 0.45, 95% CI = 0.14-0.76). Lower inhibitory control at T2 predicted more hours spent on gaming at T3 (β = -0.13, 95% CI = -0.25 to -0.02). We found weak or no evidence for the other associations., Discussion and Conclusions: Lower inhibitory control predicts more time spent gaming, possibly due to insufficient top-down regulation of the behaviour. Impulsive decision-making is rather a consequence of IGD than a predictor, which may be due to altered reward learning. One-dimensional etiological assumptions about the relationship between neurocognitive impairments and IGD seem not to be appropriate for the complexity of the disorder.

Cognitive flexibility is the ability to switch between different concepts or to adapt goal-directed behavior in a changing environment. Although, cognitive research on this ability has long been focused on the individual mind, it is becoming increasingly clear that cognitive flexibility plays a central role in our social life. This is particularly evident in turn-taking in verbal conversation, where cognitive flexibility of the individual becomes part of social flexibility in the dyadic interaction. In this work, we introduce a model that reveals different parameters that explain how people flexibly handle unexpected events in verbal conversation. In order to study hypotheses derived from the model, we use a novel experimental approach in which thirty pairs of participants engaged in a word-by-word interaction by taking turns in generating sentences word by word. Similar to well established individual cognitive tasks, participants needed to adapt their behavior in order to respond to their co-actor's last utterance. With our experimental approach we could manipulate the interaction between participants: Either both participants had to construct a sentence with a common target word (congruent condition) or with distinct target words (incongruent condition). We further studied the relation between the interactive Word-by-Word task measures and classical individual-centered, cognitive tasks, namely the Number-Letter task, the Stop-Signal task, and the GoNogo task. In the Word-by-Word task, we found that participants had faster response times in congruent compared to incongruent trials, which replicates the primary findings of standard cognitive tasks measuring cognitive flexibility. Further, we found a significant correlation between the performance in the Word-by-Word task and the Stop-Signal task indicating that participants with a high cognitive flexibility in the Word-by-Word task also showed high inhibition control., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

According to ideomotor theory, when people perform a movement and observe its subsequent effect, they acquire a bidirectional action-effect association. If at a later point they want to produce the effect, its anticipation activates and allows executing the corresponding action. In ideomotor induction tasks, several task characteristics determine whether participants use the experimentally induced action-effect associations to pre-activate the corresponding actions. Here, we assess the impact of the verbal instruction, the task relevance of the effect stimuli and the presentation of post-response effects on the expression of action-effect associations. The results show that an instruction stressing the stimulus-effect correspondence prompts participants to utilize the presented effects more than an instruction stressing the stimulus-response correspondence. Furthermore, the induced action-effect associations were only expressed when the effects were relevant for the task and when post-response effects were presented in the test phase. These findings show the importance of the particular task construction for the expression of the experimentally manipulated action-effect knowledge.

Computational models introduce simplifications that need to be understood and validated. For attractor models of decision making, the main simplification is the high-level representation of different sub-processes of the complex decision system in one dynamic description of the overall process dynamics. This simplification implies that the overall process dynamics of the decision system are independent from specific values handled in different sub-processes. Here, we test the validity of this simplification empirically by investigating choice perseveration in a nonverbal, value-based decision task. Specifically, we tested whether choice perseveration occurred irrespectively of the attribute dimension as suggested by a simulation of the computational model. We find evidence supporting the validity of the simplification. We conclude that the simplification might capture mechanistic aspects of decision-making processes, and that the summation of the overall process dynamics of decision systems into one single variable is a valid approach in computational modeling. Supplement materials such as empirical data, analysis scripts, and the computational model are publicly available at the Open Science Framework (osf.io/7fb5q).

The measurement of psychological properties often relies on discrete measures, for example, answers in questionnaires or responses in tasks. This focus on discrete measures neglects information that is present in the process leading to an answer or a response. A method to trace such processes is mouse tracking. Mouse tracking promises to open a continuous window onto the processes leading from a stimulus to a response. However, most mouse-tracking studies fall short of the promise to extract dynamic psychometrically valid markers for the different sub-processes, which are intertwined on the way to the final response. Here we used time-continuous multiple regression (TCMR) to extract dynamic markers for the different sub-processes leading to a response. From these markers, we extracted information about the timing, the duration, and the strength of the influence of the different sub-processes. We evaluated these dynamic measures of sub-processes for their psychometric properties, i.e. reliability, which is a basis for their use in the study of individual differences. Furthermore, we applied these dynamic measures in a group-level study to identify differences in the sub-processes of resolving response conflict between groups performing either a Simon or a flanker task. We found specific temporal patterns that match predictions from a conceptual model of these tasks. We concluded that the extracted information from mouse movements could be used as psychometrically valid dynamic measures of psychological properties and their differences across individuals and situations.A software toolbox to perform the described analyses in Matlab is provided (osf.io/5e3vn).

Our aim in the present study is to measure neural correlates during spontaneous interactive sentence production. We present a novel approach using the word-by-word technique from improvisational theatre, in which two speakers jointly produce one sentence. This paradigm allows the assessment of behavioural aspects, such as turn-times, and electrophysiological responses, such as event-related-potentials (ERPs). Twenty-five participants constructed a cued but spontaneous four-word German sentence together with a confederate, taking turns for each word of the sentence. In 30% of the trials, the confederate uttered an unexpected gender-marked article. To complete the sentence in a meaningful way, the participant had to detect the violation and retrieve and utter a new fitting response. We found significant increases in response times after unexpected words and - despite allowing unscripted language production and naturally varying speech material - successfully detected significant N400 and P600 ERP effects for the unexpected word. The N400 EEG activity further significantly predicted the response time of the subsequent turn. Our results show that combining behavioural and neuroscientific measures of verbal interactions while retaining sufficient experimental control is possible, and that this combination provides promising insights into the mechanisms of spontaneous spoken dialogue.

We introduce here the word-by-word paradigm, a dynamic setting, in which two people take turns in producing a single sentence. This task requires a high degree of coordination between the partners and the simplicity of the task allows us to study with sufficient experimental control behavioral and neural processes that underlie this controlled interaction. For this study, 13 pairs of individuals engaged in a scripted word-by-word interaction, while we recorded the neural activity of both participants simultaneously using wireless EEG. To study expectation building, different semantic contexts were primed for each participant. Semantically unexpected continuations were introduced in 25% of all sentences. In line with the hypothesis, we observed amplitude differences for the P200-N400-P600 ERPs for unexpected compared to expected words. Moreover, we could successfully assess speech and reaction times. Our results show that it is possible to measure ERPs and RTs to semantically unexpected words in a dyadic interactive scenario., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background and Objectives: When avoiding threat conflicts with approaching rewards, balanced responses to threat and reward information is required to guide functional behavior. Elevated threat avoidance characterizes anxious psychopathology. However, little is known about the mutual impact of threat and reward information on approach-avoidance behavior and its link to anxiety., Methods: High trait-anxious and low-anxious individuals (N = 74) repeatedly choose between two options. A threat/high-reward option was linked to two outcomes: a varying chance to receive an aversive stimulus and a varying high reward. A safe/low-reward option was linked to absence of the aversive stimulus and a low reward., Results: Avoidance of the threat/high-reward option increased with increasing threat. Despite threat, low-anxious individuals increasingly approached the threat/high-reward option when rewards increased. High- compared to low-anxious individuals showed elevated avoidance, but only in the presence of high competing rewards., Limitations: Future research should examine boundary conditions by manipulating type and motivational value of appetitive and aversive outcomes (e.g., food as primary reinforcer)., Conclusions: These findings suggest that a weaker impact of rewards competing with threat contributes to elevated threat avoidance in anxious psychopathology. Costly avoidance may thus be a factor involved in anxious psychopathology., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Decisions are occasionally accompanied by changes-of-mind. While considered a hallmark of cognitive flexibility, the mechanisms underlying changes-of-mind remain elusive. Previous studies on perceptual decision making have focused on changes-of-mind that are primarily driven by the accumulation of additional noisy sensory evidence after the initial decision. In a motion discrimination task, we demonstrate that changes-of-mind can occur even in the absence of additional evidence after the initial decision. Unlike previous studies of changes-of-mind, the majority of changes-of-mind in our experiment occurred in trials with prolonged initial response times. This suggests a distinct mechanism underlying such changes. Using a neural circuit model of decision uncertainty and change-of-mind behaviour, we demonstrate that this phenomenon is associated with top-down signals mediated by an uncertainty-monitoring neural population. Such a mechanism is consistent with recent neurophysiological evidence showing a link between changes-of-mind and elevated top-down neural activity. Our model explains the long response times associated with changes-of-mind through high decision uncertainty levels in such trials, and accounts for the observed motor response trajectories. Overall, our work provides a computational framework that explains changes-of-mind in the absence of new post-decision evidence., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Investigating cognitive processes by analyzing mouse movements has become a popular method in many psychological disciplines. When creating mouse-tracking experiments, researchers face many design choices-for example, whether participants indicate responses by clicking a button or just by entering the button area. Hitherto, numerous different settings have been employed, but little is known about how these methodological differences affect mouse-tracking data. We systematically investigated the influences of three central design factors, using a classic mouse-tracking paradigm in which participants classified typical and atypical exemplars. In separate experiments, we manipulated the response indication, mouse sensitivity, and starting procedure. The core finding that mouse movements deviate more toward the nonchosen option for atypical exemplars was replicated in all conditions. However, the size of this effect varied. Specifically, it was larger when participants indicated responses via click and when they were instructed to initialize the movement early. Trajectory shapes also differed between setups. For example, a dynamic start led to mostly curved trajectories, responses via click led to a mix of straight and "change-of-mind" trajectories, and responses via touch led to mostly straight trajectories. Moreover, the distribution of curvature indices was classified as bimodal in some setups and as unimodal in others. Because trajectory curvature and shape are frequently used to make inferences about psychological theories, such as differentiating between dynamic and dual-system models, this study shows that the specific design must be carefully considered when drawing theoretical inferences. All methodological designs and analyses were implemented using open-source software and are available from https://osf.io/xdp7a/.

Mouse-tracking is an increasingly popular process-tracing method. It builds on the assumption that the continuity of cognitive processing leaks into the continuity of mouse movements. Because this assumption is the prerequisite for meaningful reverse inference, it is an important question whether the assumed interaction between continuous processing and movement might be influenced by the methodological setup of the measurement. Here we studied the impacts of three commonly occurring methodological variations on the quality of mouse-tracking measures, and hence, on the reported cognitive effects. We used a mouse-tracking version of a classical intertemporal choice task that had previously been used to examine the dynamics of temporal discounting and the date-delay effect (Dshemuchadse, Scherbaum, & Goschke, 2013). The data from this previous study also served as a benchmark condition in our experimental design. Between studies, we varied the starting procedure. Within the new study, we varied the response procedure and the stimulus position. The starting procedure had the strongest influence on common mouse-tracking measures, and therefore on the cognitive effects. The effects of the response procedure and the stimulus position were weaker and less pronounced. The results suggest that the methodological setup crucially influences the interaction between continuous processing and mouse movement. We conclude that the methodological setup is of high importance for the validity of mouse-tracking as a process-tracing method. Finally, we discuss the need for standardized mouse-tracking setups, for which we provide recommendations, and present two promising lines of research toward obtaining an evidence-based gold standard of mouse-tracking.

From an embodiment perspective, action and cognition influence each other constantly. This interaction has been utilized in mouse-tracking studies to infer cognitive states from movements, assuming a continuous manifestation of cognitive processing into movement. However, it is mostly unknown how this manifestation is affected by the variety of possible design choices in mouse-tracking paradigms. Here we studied how three design factors impact the manifestation of cognition into movement in a Simon task with mouse tracking. We varied the response selection (i.e., with or without clicking), the ratio between hand and mouse cursor movement, and the location of the response boxes. The results show that all design factors can blur or even prevent the manifestation of cognition into movement, as reflected by a reduction in movement consistency and action dynamics, as well as by the adoption of unsuitable movement strategies. We conclude that deliberate and careful design choices in mouse-tracking experiments are crucial to ensuring a continuous manifestation of cognition in movement. We discuss the importance of developing a standard practice in the design of mouse-tracking experiments.

In a series of decisions, people tend to show choice perseveration, that is, they repeat their choices. This choice perseveration is assumed to emerge due to residual activity from the previous decision. Here, we use a computational model with attractor dynamics to describe this process and to predict how choice perseveration can be modulated. We derive two qualitative predictions: Choice perseveration should decrease under longer (vs. shorter) inter-trial intervals and positive (vs. negative) mood. We test these predictions in a dynamic decision task where we modulate decisions across trials via sequentially manipulated reward options. Our findings replicate our previous study in showing choice perseveration in value-based decision making. Furthermore, choice perseveration decreased with increasing inter-trial interval as predicted by the model. However, we did not find clear evidence supporting mood effects on choice perseveration. We discuss how integrating decision process dynamics by the means of applying the neural attractor model can increase our understanding of the evolution of decision outcomes and therefore complement the psychophysical perspective on decision making., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Impaired decision-making and inhibitory control are important characteristics of nicotine dependence (ND). We aimed to test 1) the effects of smoking-related priming cues on subsequent decision-making and inhibitory control in ND and 2) how these priming effects are related to valence ratings, nicotine deprivation and craving. A sample of 27 smokers with ND according to DSM-IV and a control group of 33 never-smokers performed an intertemporal choice task and a go/no-go task. Before each trial of the tasks, a priming cue appeared that was either smoking-related or neutral. Valence ratings, nicotine deprivation and craving were assessed with self-reports. After smoking-related compared to neutral primes, the ND group exhibited increased delay discounting (β = 0.07, 95% confidence-interval (CI): 0.01-0.14) and shorter go reaction times (β = -0.13, CI: -0.32 to -0.01) compared to the never-smoker group. The speed-up in go trials after smoking-related compared to neutral cues was significantly related to more pleasant valence ratings (β = 0.07, CI:0.01-0.13), a longer time since last cigarette (β = -0.17, CI:-0.30 to -0.03), and increased craving (β = -0.19, CI: -0.33 to -0.06) within the ND group. We found evidence for small group effects indicating that individuals with ND compared to never-smokers decide more dysfunctional and react faster after smoking-related compared to neutral cues. Faster reactions after smoking-related cues within the ND group, especially in states of increased nicotine deprivation and craving, without more errors could be explained by an increased attentional focus. Cue-induced alterations in decision-making and inhibitory control in ND highly depend on the temporal sequence of cue presentation., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Like person judgments in everyday life, diagnoses of personality disorders (PDs) reflect at least two influences: first, the actual characteristics of the target person (substance), and second, the more positive or negative view that the perceiver has of the target person (evaluation). In this article, we present a systematic account of substance and evaluation in PD diagnoses, using a modified version of Brunswik's (1956) lens model. An empirical study shows that the items of the alternative DSM-5 model for personality disorders (AMPD) are in fact saturated with evaluation, that this evaluation is largely the same as "social desirability," and that the two mandatory components of the AMPD (criterion A and B) are not easily distinguishable from one another in that regard. We provide concrete recommendations as to how the conceptual clarity of PD diagnostics may be improved, by distinguishing people's personality dispositions from their (likely) long-term consequences.

Everyday life offers a variety of possible actions, from which we choose one that corresponds to our intended goals. How do these goals and actions interact within the mind? One way to investigate this question is free-choice tasks, where participants freely choose the action they want to perform on any given trial. Such tasks are used in research on voluntary actions and goal-driven behavior, such as ideomotor theory. However, these tasks leave participants with a substantial amount of freedom and allow for different response strategies. Such strategies can, though being hidden in the final data, influence the results, for example by hiding the effects of manipulations of interest. To better understand participants' behavior in free-choice tasks, we used mouse tracking in an ideomotor free-choice experiment, where participants learn the connection between an action and an effect. Subsequently, they have to freely choose between actions, while the former effect is presented as a stimulus. We identified two distinct groups that applied different decision strategies. The first group made the decision at the beginning of or before the trial, irrespective of the yet to be presented effect stimulus. The second group decided within the trial and was affected by the stimulus more often. This suggests that people handle free-choice tasks differently which is expressed in heterogeneous choice patterns and response times and an underestimation of the examined effects. These differences potentially limit the reliability of inferences from free-choice experiments and should be considered in the interpretation of their results., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Mouse-tracking is an increasingly popular method to trace cognitive processes. As is common for a novel method, the exact methodological procedures employed in an individual study are still relatively idiosyncratic and the effects of different methodological setups on mouse-tracking measures have not been explored so far. Here, we study the impact of one commonly occurring methodological variation, namely whether participants have to initiate their mouse movements to trigger stimulus presentation (dynamic starting condition) or whether the stimulus is presented automatically after a fixed delay and participants can freely decide when to initiate their movements (static starting condition). We compared data from a previous study in which participants performed a mouse-tracking version of a Simon task with a dynamic starting condition to data from a new study that employed a static starting condition in an otherwise identical setup. Results showed reliable Simon effects and Congruency Sequence effects on response time (RT) and discrete trial-level mouse-tracking measures (i.e., average deviation) in both starting conditions. In contrast, within-trial continuous measures (i.e., extracted temporal segments) were weaker and occurred in a more temporally compressed way in the static compared to the dynamic starting condition. This was in line with generally less consistent movements within and across participants in the static compared to the dynamic condition. Our results suggest that studies that use within-trial continuous measures to assess dynamic aspects of mouse movements should apply dynamic starting procedures to enhance the leakage of cognitive processing into the mouse movements.

Background: Hemocyanin transports O 2 in the hemolymph of many arthropod species. Such respiratory proteins have long been considered unnecessary in Myriapoda. As a result, the presence of hemocyanin in Myriapoda has long been overlooked. We analyzed transcriptome and genome sequences from all major myriapod taxa - Chilopoda, Diplopoda, Symphyla, and Pauropoda - with the aim of identifying hemocyanin-like proteins., Results: We investigated the genomes and transcriptomes of 56 myriapod species and identified 46 novel full-length hemocyanin subunit sequences in 20 species of Chilopoda, Diplopoda, and Symphyla, but not Pauropoda. We found in Cleidogona sp. (Diplopoda, Chordeumatida) a hemocyanin-like sequence with mutated copper-binding centers, which cannot bind O 2 . An RNA-seq approach showed markedly different hemocyanin mRNA levels from ~ 6 to 25,000 reads per kilobase per million reads. To evaluate the contribution of hemocyanin to O 2 transport, we specifically studied the hemocyanin of the centipede Scolopendra dehaani. This species harbors two distinct hemocyanin subunits with low expression levels. We showed cooperative O 2 binding in the S. dehaani hemolymph, indicating that hemocyanin supports O 2 transport even at low concentration. Further, we demonstrated that hemocyanin is > 1500-fold more highly expressed in the fertilized egg than in the adult., Conclusion: Hemocyanin was most likely the respiratory protein in the myriapod stem-lineage, but multiple taxa may have independently lost hemocyanin and thus the ability of efficient O 2 transport. In myriapods, hemocyanin is much more widespread than initially appreciated. Some myriapods express hemocyanin only at low levels, which are, nevertheless, sufficient for O 2 supply. Notably, also in myriapods, a non-respiratory protein similar to insect storage hexamerins evolved from the hemocyanin.

People show a tendency to devalue rewards when they are delayed in time. This so-called delay discounting often happens to an extent that seems irrational from an economical perspective. Research studying outcomes of delay discounting decisions has successfully derived descriptive models for such choice preferences. However, this outcome-based approach faces limitations in integrating the influence of contextual factors on the decision. Recently, this outcome-centred perspective on delay discounting has been complemented by a focus on the process dynamics leading to delay discounting decisions. Here, we embrace and add to this approach: We show how an attractor model can extend discounting descriptive discounting curves into the temporal dimension. From the model, we derive three predictions and study the predictions in a delay discounting experiment based on mouse tracking. We find differences in discounting depending on the order of option presentation and more direct movements to options presented first. Together with the analysis of specific temporal patterns of information integration, these results show that considering the continuous process dynamics of delay discounting decisions and harvesting them with continuous behavioural measures allow the integration of contextual factors into existing models of delay discounting, not as noise but as a signal on their own.

Inferring processes or constructs from performance data is a major hallmark of cognitive psychometrics. Particularly, diffusion modeling of response times (RTs) from correct and erroneous responses using the Wiener distribution has become a popular measurement tool because it provides a set of psychologically interpretable parameters. However, an important precondition to identify all of these parameters is a sufficient number of RTs from erroneous responses. In the present article, we show by simulation that the parameters of the Wiener distribution can be recovered from tasks yielding very high or even perfect response accuracies using the shifted Wald distribution. Specifically, we argue that error RTs can be modeled as correct RTs that have undergone censoring by using techniques from parametric survival analysis. We illustrate our reasoning by fitting the Wiener and (censored) shifted Wald distribution to RTs from six participants who completed a Go/No-go task. In accordance with our simulations, diffusion modeling using the Wiener and the shifted Wald distribution yielded identical parameter estimates when the number of erroneous responses was predicted to be low. Moreover, the modeling of error RTs as censored correct RTs substantially improved the recovery of these diffusion parameters when premature trial timeout was introduced to increase the number of omission errors. Thus, the censored shifted Wald distribution provides a suitable means for diffusion modeling in situations when the Wiener distribution cannot be fitted without parametric constraints., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.