BIO

Erin Chrystel M. Wright is a Behavioral Neuroscience major who hopes to earn a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. She grew up in the Philippines, and moved to the USA when she was 12 years old. She is currently an undergraduate research assistant for the Nee Lab, and an intern for the ThoughtWise Clinical Psychology & Neuropsychology Clinic. She’s the Vice President for the Nu Rho Psi, National Honor Society in Neuroscience, Beta Chapter here at FSU and the Treasurer for the Neuroscience Undergraduate Student Association. Her hobbies involve listening to various genres of music, playing video games with her friends, practicing her faith, and doing anything Dungeons & Dragons.

The Effects of Switch Load on Sustained and Transient Costs

Abstract

Cognitive control, or the ability to guide goal-directed behaviors intentionally, is often assessed by measuring how quickly one can switch from one task or ruleset to another. A prevalent model for task switching has been the dual mechanisms of control (DMC) model, which details two control policies - proactive and reactive control. Proactive control involves active anticipation of the task switch by maintaining all relevant rulesets to increase success. Reactive control relies on detecting a switch quickly and attention is recruited only when needed.

These policies involve two cognitive costs that exhibit a trade off. Sustained costs are control demands allocated towards task maintenance while transient costs are linked with switching tasks. The DMC would predict that reactive control would have lower sustained costs and higher transient costs for more efficient task switching in the moment. Conversely, proactive control would show the opposite for better maintenance of relevant task rulesets. However, this logic has been recently disputed.

The aim of this study was to investigate how control costs were influenced by task switching load. It was hypothesized during low switch load subjects would use reactive control, showing low sustained and high transient costs. Proactive control would be used during high switch load, showing the reverse cost profile. Results showed signs of both costs, yet they remained stable regardless of load. This could suggest no cost trade-off between the control policies. It is also possible subjects used the same policy regardless of switch load.

Keywords: cognitive control, task switching, working memory, dual mechanisms of control, cognitive control costs, control policies