The subjective evaluation of task switch cues is related to voluntary task switching

Vermeylen, Luc; Braem, Senne; Notebaert, Wim; Ruitenberg, Marit F. L. · 2022 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2022.105063

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Summary

This study investigates whether the subjective, affective evaluation of task switching influences voluntary decision-making regarding task transitions. While it is well-established that task switching incurs objective performance costs (slower reaction times) and is subjectively evaluated as negative, the direct link between this negative affective evaluation and actual voluntary switching behavior had not been empirically tested. The authors aimed to determine if individuals who subjectively dislike task switching cues more intensely are less likely to voluntarily switch tasks, thereby supporting neuroeconomic theories of value-based decision making. The researchers conducted a pre-registered study with 80 participants using a three-phase experimental design. In the first phase, participants performed a cued task-switching paradigm, making animacy or size judgments on words based on abstract non-word cues that signaled either task repetition or alternation. In the second phase, these same cues served as primes in an affective priming procedure, where participants evaluated neutral Chinese pictographs as pleasant or unpleasant. This allowed the researchers to measure the "negative affective priming effect"—the extent to which switch cues induced more negative judgments than repetition cues. In the third phase, participants engaged in a voluntary task-switching paradigm where they freely chose which task to perform next, without external cues dictating the transition. Participants also completed questionnaires assessing apathy, impulsivity, autism spectrum symptoms, and reward sensitivity. The results replicated previous findings that task alternation cues are evaluated more negatively than repetition cues. Crucially, the study found a significant negative correlation between the magnitude of this negative affective evaluation and the rate of voluntary task switching: participants who exhibited a stronger negative reaction to switch cues switched tasks less frequently in the voluntary phase. Additionally, higher switch costs in the cued phase were associated with lower voluntary switch rates. However, the study did not find significant correlations between the affective evaluation of switching and personality traits such as apathy, impulsivity, or reward sensitivity, nor did it find a link between the affective priming effect and objective switch costs. These findings provide empirical support for the hypothesis that the subjective negative value of cognitive control processes drives avoidance behavior. The results suggest that people’s decisions to engage in or avoid task switching are influenced by their internal affective evaluation of the effort required, consistent with neuroeconomic models that view cognitive control as a costly process. This implies that the "affective cost" of switching is a key determinant of voluntary task selection, independent of objective performance metrics or specific personality traits in this sample.

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• task switching