Name: task interruption and resumption paradigm for testing the activation and pursuit of an abstract thinking goal
Uploaded: 2017-04-18T15:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Task Interruption and Resumption Paradigm for Testing the Activation and Pursuit of an Abstract Thinking Goal at JoVE.com

The authors have no acknowledgements.

This research was approved with a full waiver of informed consent by the University of Texas at Austin Institutional Review Board (IRB 2011-02-0021).
1. Beginning and Introducing the Session
<ol>
	<li>Ask participants to begin the session online. 
	NOTE: The session can take place in a lab or on participants&#39; own computers (desktop or laptop) outside the lab. The study requires a digital survey platform that has a time-based automatic proceeding feature (e.g., Qualtrics).</...

<ol>
	<li>Amir, O., Ariely, D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Resting+on+laurels:+The+effects+of+discrete+progress+markers+as+subgoals+on+task+performance+and+preferences.">Resting on laurels: The effects of discrete progress markers as subgoals on task performance and preferences.</a> J. Exp. Psychol.-Learn. Mem. Cogn. 34 (5), 1158-1171 (2008).</li><li>Koo, M., Fishbach, A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Dynamics+of+self-regulation:+How+(un)+accomplished+goal+actions+affect+motivation.">Dynamics of self-regulation: How (un) accomplished goal actions affect motivation.</a> J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 94 (2), 183-195 (2008).</li><li>Locke, E. A., Latham, G. 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Cons. Res. 34 (4), 567-578 (2007).</li><li>F&#246;rster, J., Liberman, N., Friedman, R. S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Seven+principles+of+goal+activation:+A+systematic+approach+to+distinguishing+goal+priming+from+priming+of+non-goal+constructs.">Seven principles of goal activation: A systematic approach to distinguishing goal priming from priming of non-goal constructs.</a> Pers. Soc. Psychol. Rev. 11 (3), 211-233 (2007).</li><li>F&#246;rster, J., Liberman, N., Higgins, E. T. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Accessibility+from+active+and+fulfilled+goals.">Accessibility from active and fulfilled goals.</a> J. Exp. Soc. Psychol. 41 (3), 220-239 (2005).</li><li>Gollwitzer, P. M., Moskowitz, G. B., Higgins, E. T., Kruglanski, A. W. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Chapter+13,+Goal+effects+on+action+and+cognition.">Chapter 13, Goal effects on action and cognition.</a> Social Psychology: Handbook of Basic Principles. , 361-399 (1996).</li><li>Hassin, R. R., Aarts, H., Eitam, B., Custers, R., Kleiman, T., Morsella, E., Bargh, J. A., Gollwitzer, P. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Chapter+26,+Non-conscious+goal+pursuit+and+the+effortful+control+of+behavior.">Chapter 26, Non-conscious goal pursuit and the effortful control of behavior.</a> Oxford Handbook of Human Action: Social Cognition and Social Neuroscience. 2, 549-566 (2009).</li><li>Bargh, J. A., Gollwitzer, P. M., Lee-Chai, A., Barndollar, K., Tr&#246;tschel, R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+automated+will:+Nonconscious+activation+and+pursuit+of+behavioral+goals.">The automated will: Nonconscious activation and pursuit of behavioral goals.</a> J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 81 (6), 1014-1027 (2001).</li><li>Namkoong, J. -. E., Henderson, M. D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Wanting+a+bird's+eye+to+understand+why:+Motivated+abstraction+and+causal+uncertainty.">Wanting a bird's eye to understand why: Motivated abstraction and causal uncertainty.</a> J. Exp. Soc. Psychol. 64, 57-71 (2016).</li><li>Kunda, Z., Sinclair, L. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Motivated+reasoning+with+stereotypes:+Activation,+application,+and+inhibition.">Motivated reasoning with stereotypes: Activation, application, and inhibition.</a> Psychol. Inq. 10 (1), 12-22 (1999).</li><li>Nickerson, R. S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Confirmation+bias:+A+ubiquitous+phenomenon+in+many+guises.">Confirmation bias: A ubiquitous phenomenon in many guises.</a> Rev. Gen. Psychol. 2 (2), 175-220 (1998).</li><li>Agrawal, N., Maheswaran, D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Motivated+reasoning+in+outcome-bias+effects.">Motivated reasoning in outcome-bias effects.</a> J. Cons. Res. 31 (4), 798-805 (2005).</li><li>Amabile, T. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Motivating+creativity+in+organizations:+On+doing+what+you+love+and+loving+what+you+do.">Motivating creativity in organizations: On doing what you love and loving what you do.</a> Cal. Manag. Rev. 40 (1), 39-58 (1997).</li><li>Chiu, C. -. Y., Morris, M. W., Hong, Y. -. Y., Menon, T. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Motivated+cultural+cognition:+The+impact+of+implicit+cultural+theories+on+dispositional+attribution+varies+as+a+function+of+need+for+closure.">Motivated cultural cognition: The impact of implicit cultural theories on dispositional attribution varies as a function of need for closure.</a> J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 78 (2), 247-259 (2000).</li><li>Kruglanski, A. W., Shah, J. Y., Pierro, A., Mannetti, L. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=When+similarity+breeds+content:+Need+for+closure+and+the+allure+of+homogeneous+and+self-resembling+groups.">When similarity breeds content: Need for closure and the allure of homogeneous and self-resembling groups.</a> J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 83 (3), 648-662 (2002).</li><li>Shah, J. Y., Kruglanski, A. W., Thompson, E. P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Membership+has+its+(epistemic)+rewards:+Need+for+closure+effects+on+in-group+bias.">Membership has its (epistemic) rewards: Need for closure effects on in-group bias.</a> J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 75 (2), 383 (1998).</li><li>Neuberg, S. L., Judice, T. N., West, S. G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=What+the+Need+for+Closure+Scale+measures+and+what+it+does+not:+Toward+differentiating+among+related+epistemic+motives.">What the Need for Closure Scale measures and what it does not: Toward differentiating among related epistemic motives.</a> J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 72 (6), 1396-1412 (1997).</li><li>Martin, L. L., Tesser, A., Moskowitz, G. B., Grant, H. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Chapter+10,+Five+markers+of+motivated+behavior.">Chapter 10, Five markers of motivated behavior.</a> The psychology of goals. , 257-276 (2009).</li><li>Kouider, S., Andrillon, T., Barbosa, L. S., Goupil, L., Bekinschtein, T. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Inducing+task-relevant+responses+to+speech+in+the+sleeping+brain.">Inducing task-relevant responses to speech in the sleeping brain.</a> Curr. Biol. 24 (18), 2208-2214 (2014).</li><li>Walker, M. P., Stickgold, R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Sleep,+memory,+and+plasticity.">Sleep, memory, and plasticity.</a> Annual Review of Psychology. 57, 139-166 (2006).</li><li>Stickgold, R., Walker, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=To+sleep,+perchance+to+gain+creative+insight.">To sleep, perchance to gain creative insight.</a> Trends Cogn. Sci. 8 (5), 191-192 (2004).</li><li>Namkoong, J. -. E., Henderson, M. D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=It's+simple+and+I+know+it!+Abstract+construals+reduce+causal+uncertainty.">It's simple and I know it! Abstract construals reduce causal uncertainty.</a> Soc. Psychol. Person. Sci. 5 (3), 352-359 (2014).</li><li>Fujita, K., Roberts, J. C. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Promoting+prospective+self-control+through+abstraction.">Promoting prospective self-control through abstraction.</a> J. Exp. Soc. Psychol. 46 (6), 1049-1054 (2010).</li><li>Burgoon, E. M., Henderson, M. D., Markman, A. B. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=There+are+many+ways+to+see+the+forest+for+the+trees:+A+tour+guide+for+abstraction.">There are many ways to see the forest for the trees: A tour guide for abstraction.</a> Perspect. Psychol. Sci. 8 (5), 501-520 (2013).</li><li>Altmann, E. M., Trafton, J. G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Memory+for+goals:+An+activation-based+model.">Memory for goals: An activation-based model.</a> Cogn. Sci. 26 (1), 39-83 (2002).</li><li>Zeigarnik, B. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Das+Behalten+erledigter+und+unerledigter+Handlungen.">Das Behalten erledigter und unerledigter Handlungen.</a> Psychologische Forschung. 9, 1-85 (1927).</li><li>Bargh, J. A., , ., , . <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+four+horsemen+of+automaticity:+Intention,+awareness,+efficiency,+and+control+in+social+cognition.">The four horsemen of automaticity: Intention, awareness, efficiency, and control in social cognition.</a> Handbook of Social Cognition. 1, 1-40 (1994).</li><li>Webster, D. M., Kruglanski, A. W. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Cognitive+and+social+consequences+of+the+need+for+cognitive+closure.">Cognitive and social consequences of the need for cognitive closure.</a> Eur. Rev. Soc. Psychol. 8 (1), 133-173 (1997).</li><li>Kruglanski, A. W., Webster, D. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Motivated+closing+of+the+mind:+'Seizing'+and+'freezing'.">Motivated closing of the mind: 'Seizing' and 'freezing'.</a> Psychol. Rev. 103 (2), 263-283 (1996).</li><li>Cacioppo, J. T., Petty, R. E., Feinstein, J. A., Jarvis, W. B. G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Dispositional+differences+in+cognitive+motivation:+The+life+and+times+of+individuals+varying+in+need+for+cognition.">Dispositional differences in cognitive motivation: The life and times of individuals varying in need for cognition.</a> Psychol. Bull. 119 (2), 197-253 (1996).</li><li>Birdi, K. S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=No+idea?+Evaluating+the+effectiveness+of+creativity+training.">No idea? Evaluating the effectiveness of creativity training.</a> J. Eur. Ind. Train. 29 (2), 102-111 (2005).</li><li>. Qualtrics Survery Software Available from: <a target="_blank" href="https://mccombs.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_dnDvKjR8hO5qP0V">https://mccombs.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_dnDvKjR8hO5qP0V</a> (2017)</li></ol>

The methodology detailed in this paper allows researchers to test the activation and pursuit of a cognitive goal in a simple and economical way. It is especially suitable for automatic cognitive goals because automatic goal pursuit is more efficient29, and the typing interruption (i.e., the &#34;Natural Typing Task&#34;) prevents goals from being fulfilled through unconscious cognitive processes. Cognitive goals that are activated outside of participants&#39; awareness are also less susce...

Goal pursuit can take many forms, from educational attainment to healthy diets to finding happiness. Much research on goal pursuit investigates factors that moderate motivation levels or goal commitment1,2,3,4,5, while others focus on examining the consequences of active goals6,7,8,9,10. The methodology described and discussed in the current paper was specifically developed to test the activation and pursuit of cognitive goals and the associated consequences. A cognitive goal (or thinking goal) is defined as a desired state of mind11. Cognitive goals may encompass specific thought outcomes, such as those related to motivated reasoning12 or confirmation bias13, or they may be about achieving a certain mode of thinking, whether it is to be more accurate14 or to think more creatively15 or at a higher level11. While the antecedents and consequences of various cognitive goals have been examined in various empirical settings, the activation of these motivational states has often been implied rather than directly tested. For example, several studies have indirectly manipulated the need for cognitive closure by manipulating time pressure, but the actual activation of the motivational state was implied based on prior research16,17,18,19.
The setup of this methodology is based on one of the principles of goal pursuit6,10,20: that unsatisfied active goals lead to persistence, so individuals have a high tendency to resume if they have been interrupted during goal pursuit. In contrast, if the interrupted task is unrelated to goal pursuit, the rate of resumption amongst individuals would be relatively lower. To illustrate, an individual shooting hoops to reach a certain success rate is highly likely to resume the activity after being interrupted by a lunch break, even if there are other available activities that could be more appealing (e.g., playing a video game or taking a nap). In contrast, if the individual is shooting hoops simply because it is a convenient activity at the time, there is a lower chance that this person would resume after taking a lunch break, especially if other appealing activities are available.
A cognitive goal, when activated, would also result in a higher resumption rate if the individuals are interrupted during goal pursuit. However, there is a critical difference between interrupting a behavioral goal pursuit and interrupting a cognitive goal pursuit. Interrupting a behavioral goal pursuit typically means that the interruption is successful in pausing the goal pursuit process because, for instance, just as it is difficult to shoot hoops and eat lunch at the same time, it is challenging for people to be physically engaged in two separate tasks simultaneously. This is not the case, however, when interrupting the pursuit of cognitive goals. People can continue to have and develop thoughts, even during periods of interruptions, which is why people often find themselves persistently pondering unresolved issues, even when forced to step away to eat a meal or take a shower. In fact, recent studies have demonstrated that people engage in complex cognitive processes even when asleep21,22,23. The protocol introduced in the current research is designed to address this unique characteristic of cognitive goal pursuit: that people can continue to pursue and potentially even satisfy the activated cognitive goal during the interruption period. Specifically, this protocol includes an activity that distracts participants during the interruption stage to prevent automatic goal pursuit.
The gist of this protocol involves: (1) manipulating the activation of a proposed cognitive goal, (2) presenting an &#34;unrelated&#34; cognitive task that participants anticipate would either satisfy or dissatisfy the activated cognitive goal, (3) interrupting the cognitive task while creating a distraction, and (4) observing participants&#39; choices to resume or abandon the interrupted task. The underlying premise of the protocol is that participants would be more likely to resume an interrupted task if the task is perceived as an opportunity to satisfy the activated cognitive goal; therefore, a higher resumption rate in this condition provides empirical evidence that the proposed cognitive goal is indeed being actively pursued.
When implementing the protocol, participants are told that they will be completing three supposedly unrelated tasks. In reality, participants complete the first task but then have to choose between doing only the second or third task. In addition, the tasks are actually related, and each task serves an important purpose for the experiment. The first task manipulates cognitive goal activation. The second task (which is interrupted) manipulates whether or not that task is expected to satisfy the activated cognitive goal. The third task serves as an attractive alternative for when participants later choose between completing only the second task (resuming the interrupted task at the cost of a more enjoyable task) or completing only the third task (abandoning the interrupted task for a more enjoyable task). The interruption introduced at the beginning of the second task involves typing nonsense words. While participants are warned about this interruption at the beginning of the overall session, they are also told that the timing will be random. This is to enhance the feeling of disruptiveness.
While this protocol can be adapted to test the activation of a variety of cognitive goals, the example of a recent study, which tested whether causal uncertainty (i.e., uncertainty about why something happened) activates a goal to think more abstractly11, is used here in an attempt to provide more details and contextual background on the protocol. The theory was proposed and demonstrated as an extension of prior work showing that abstract thinking (considering central, overarching themes and similarities across events as opposed to peripheral, lower-level details and differences between events) reduces causal uncertainty24. As individuals recurrently experience the benefit of abstract thinking, they develop a tendency to activate a goal to think more abstractly when experiencing causal uncertainty. The survey is available online34.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="789">
	<tbody>
		<tr height="49">
			<td height="49" style="height:49px;width:156px;">Computer</td>
			<td style="width:125px;">N/A</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">N/A</td>
			<td style="width:389px;">The survey requires a computer and cannot be implemented using a paper-and-pencil format.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="72">
			<td height="72" style="height:73px;width:156px;">Qualtrics Insight Platform</td>
			<td style="width:125px;">Qualtrics</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">N/A</td>
			<td style="width:389px;">Qualtrics is only one example. Both online and offline survey platforms are appropriate as long as a time-based automatic proceeding feature is available.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="32">
			<td height="32" style="height:33px;width:156px;">IBM SPSS Statistics</td>
			<td style="width:125px;">IBM Corporation</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">N/A</td>
			<td>Other statistical software may be used.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

task interruption and resumption paradigm for testing the activation and pursuit of an abstract thinking goal

This protocol is based on the task interruption and resumption paradigm, the premise of which is that active goals lead to persistent behavior and thus a higher resumption rate after a period of delay or interruption. The task interruption and resumption protocol described in this research is tailored to test the activation of cognitive goals (e.g., a goal to think more abstractly). Cognitive goals may be pursued even during the interruption period; thus, to prevent this, the protocol involves cognitive distraction. The protocol consists of several stages. Specifically, the initial stage includes the goal activation process, where the treatment (versus control) condition receives a manipulation to activate the cognitive goal being tested by the researcher. In the next stage, participants are presented with the introduction of a task that is perceived to either satisfy or not satisfy the cognitive goal of interest. Importantly, this task is interrupted a few seconds after it begins. The task interruption forces a delay period and introduces a cognitive distraction to prevent the automatic pursuit and fulfillment of the cognitive goal. After the interruption period, participants are given a choice between resuming the interrupted task and abandoning the interrupted task to complete an alternative task instead. Among participants whose cognitive goals had been activated at the earlier stage, the task resumption rate should be higher if the task was perceived as an opportunity to satisfy (versus not satisfy) the goal. Such a finding would provide empirical evidence that the cognitive goal has been activated and pursued. In previous research, this protocol has been used to test whether causal uncertainty activates an abstract thinking goal. Adapting the protocol to test the activation of other cognitive goals is also discussed.

The above method was implemented by Namkoong and Henderson11 in their first study, which consisted of two data sets. The two data sets were combined for the analysis because the pattern of results was consistent across both. Participants were 297 college students from two different public universities (168 females; age range 17 to 48 years, mean (M) age = 20.43 years, standard deviation (SD) = 3.78 years), and they completed the survey in exchange...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Task Interruption and Resumption Paradigm for Testing the Activation and Pursuit of an Abstract Thinking Goal at JoVE.com

Task Interruption and Resumption Paradigm for Testing the Activation and Pursuit of an Abstract Thinking Goal

This protocol was designed to test the activation and pursuit of cognitive goals (e.g., an abstract thinking goal) using the task interruption and resumption paradigm. The protocol is suitable for cognitive goals that are automatically pursued once activated, as the distraction procedure prevents goal pursuit during the interruption period.

This protocol is based on the task interruption and resumption paradigm, the premise of which is that active goals lead to persistent behavior and thus a ...

This experimental procedure is based on the task interruption and resumption paradigm and is developed to test the activation and pursuit of cognitive goals. Our procedure, tests the activation of cognitive goals by first interrupting participants during a task and then measuring task resumption. Because a high task resumption rate is an indication of goal pursuit.The challenge is that pursuing a cognitive goal can be a very efficient process, so we introduce a cognitive distraction during the interruption stage, to prevent automatic goal pursuit from happening. Begin by escorting the participant to the testing computer. Ask them to read basic descriptions of the overall survey procedure and to complete the online consent form.Then inform them that they should click the continue button to proceed after every page. On the screen present the participant with an important notice message on the screen, and inform them that at some time during the session they will be interrupted briefly, but suddenly by the natural typing task designed to measure participants'natural typing speeds. Through the instructions on the screen, inform the participant that this task will involve typing nonsense words with no meaning.Then show a question asking whether the participant has carefully read all the information about the interruption. Have them select Yes and Continue to proceed to the next page. Then present an overview of the three tasks that the participant would supposedly be doing and provide a brief description and the expected duration of each task.Make sure that all tasks have the same duration. Note, the next part of the study is designed to activate the cognitive goal being tested. Show instructions to the participant that indicate they will now start the Relationship Conflict Task.Then on the following page, ask them to recall a recent relationship conflict that they had with someone they are close to and fill in the open-ended question. On the same screen, below the text box, ask questions about the relationship conflict such as, with whom and how intense the conflict was? To ensure that the participant comes up with a specific conflict as oppose to general dissatisfaction in a relationship.Manipulate high or low causal uncertainty by asking the participant to elaborate on the recent relationship conflict. With the focus on high or low causal uncertainty, respectively. Then ask manipulation check questions using seven point scales so that participants can indicate how certain or uncertain they feel about the reason behind the conflict.Next inform the participant that they will start the Picture Impression Task. In which they will see five pairs of pictures and that for each pair, they must identify one thing that makes the pictures either similar or different from one another. Note, similarity focus involves abstract thinking while difference focus involves concrete thinking.Then show the participant an incomplete image to make the screen appear as if the first pair of pictures of the Picture Impression Task is being loaded without showing any parts of the pictures. After two to three seconds, have the screen automatically proceed to a different page to start the task interruption procedure. Instruct the participant to complete the Natural-Typing Task by clicking the Start button and typing the 49 nonsense words presented on the screen.After clicking Continue, inform the participant that instead of completing all tasks as originally planned, they must choose between resuming the interrupted second task, Picture Impression or completing the third task, Humor Evaluation. On the same screen, show the task descriptions and remind the participant that both tasks will take 2 minutes and involve five trials to prevent them from choosing the task that simply seems easier or quicker to finish. Finally, conclude the session by allowing the participant complete the task of their choice and by asking demographic questions of interest.Then debrief the participant about the study. Overall, participants'task resumption patterns differed between the high versus low causal uncertainty condition. These results revealed a significant interaction between causal uncertainty and task control construer in predicting the rate of task resumption.The percentage of participants that resumed the task was affected by the interaction. Specifically, in the high causal uncertainty condition the task resumption rate was greater if the interrupted task was about similarity versus difference focus. This procedure was used in previous research to test whether causal uncertainty activates the goal to think more abstractly.However, we do believe that this can be adapted to test other kinds of cognitive goals. For example, if somebody developed an educational software that promotes creative thinking, this procedure can be modified to test whether the software does what it's supposed to do by simply changing some of the tasks in the study. There are some important things to consider when adapting this procedure.First, researchers should make sure that the interrupted task is perceived by participants as an activity that can either fulfill or not fulfill the cognitive goal that's being tested. Second, researchers should also make sure that the alternative task that the participants can choose instead of resuming, is seen as something that is inherently more enjoyable. That way, they can make the case that the observed task resumption is indeed a result of goal pursuit.This is also important because task resumption rate is generally high, even without a cognitive goal. This is because people have a natural tendency to want to complete things, which can potentially lead to a ceiling effect. Running plenty of pilot tests to ensure that these conditions have been met, is critical for a successful adaptation.And with these proper adaptations this procedure can be highly versatile.

task-interruption-resumption-paradigm-for-testing-activation-pursuit

Research

JoVE Journal

Behavior

The Resident-intruder Paradigm: A Standardized Test for Aggression, Violence and Social Stress

This video publication explains in detail the experimental protocol of the resident-intruder paradigm in rats. This test is a standardized method to measure offensive aggression and defensive behavior in a semi natural setting. The most important behavioral elements performed by the resident and the intruder are demonstrated in the video and illustrated using artistic drawings. The use of the resident intruder paradigm for acute and chronic social stress experiments is explained as well. Finally, some brief tests and criteria are presented to distinguish aggression from its more violent and pathological forms.

This video shows the resident-intruder paradigm in rats. This test is a standardized method to measure offensive aggression, defensive behavior and violence in a semi-natural setting. The use of the paradigm for social stress experiments is explained as well.

This video publication explains in detail the experimental protocol of the resident-intruder paradigm in rats. This test is a standardized method to ...

The Crossmodal Congruency Task as a Means to Obtain an Objective Behavioral Measure in the Rubber Hand Illusion Paradigm

The rubber hand illusion (RHI) is a popular experimental paradigm. Participants view touch on an artificial rubber hand while the participants' own hidden hand is touched. If the viewed and felt touches are given at the same time then this is sufficient to induce the compelling experience that the rubber hand is one's own hand. The RHI can be used to investigate exactly how the brain constructs distinct body representations for one's own body. Such representations are crucial for successful interactions with the external world. To obtain a subjective measure of the RHI, researchers typically ask participants to rate statements such as "I felt as if the rubber hand were my hand". Here we demonstrate how the crossmodal congruency task can be used to obtain an objective behavioral measure within this paradigm.
The variant of the crossmodal congruency task we employ involves the presentation of tactile targets and visual distractors. Targets and distractors are spatially congruent (i.e. same finger) on some trials and incongruent (i.e. different finger) on others. The difference in performance between incongruent and congruent trials - the crossmodal congruency effect (CCE) - indexes multisensory interactions. Importantly, the CCE is modulated both by viewing a hand as well as the synchrony of viewed and felt touch which are both crucial factors for the RHI.
The use of the crossmodal congruency task within the RHI paradigm has several advantages. It is a simple behavioral measure which can be repeated many times and which can be obtained during the illusion while participants view the artificial hand. Furthermore, this measure is not susceptible to observer and experimenter biases. The combination of the RHI paradigm with the crossmodal congruency task allows in particular for the investigation of multisensory processes which are critical for modulations of body representations as in the RHI.

We demonstrate how an objective measure can be employed in the widely employed rubber hand illusion paradigm. This measure is obtained by modifying the well-established crossmodal congruency task. This task allows the investigation of multisensory processes which are critical for modulations of body representations as in the rubber hand illusion.

The rubber hand illusion (RHI) is a popular experimental paradigm. Participants view touch on an artificial rubber hand while the participants' own hidden ...

The 5-Choice Serial Reaction Time Task: A Task of Attention and Impulse Control for Rodents

This protocol describes the 5-choice serial reaction time task, which is an operant based task used to study attention and impulse control in rodents. Test day challenges, modifications to the standard task, can be used to systematically tax the neural systems controlling either attention or impulse control. Importantly, these challenges have consistent effects on behavior across laboratories in intact animals and can reveal either enhancements or deficits in cognitive function that are not apparent when rats are only tested on the standard task. The variety of behavioral measures that are collected can be used to determine if other factors (i.e., sedation, motivation deficits, locomotor impairments) are contributing to changes in performance. The versatility of the 5CSRTT is further enhanced because it is amenable to combination with pharmacological, molecular, and genetic techniques.

This protocol describes the 5-choice serial reaction time task, which is an operant based task used to study attention and impulse control in rodents. Test day challenges, which are modifications of the standard task, increase flexibility of the task and can be combined with other manipulations to more fully characterize behavior.

This protocol describes the 5-choice serial reaction time task, which is an operant based task used to study attention and impulse control in rodents. ...

An Operant Intra-/Extra-dimensional Set-shift Task for Mice

Alterations in executive control and cognitive flexibility, such as attentional set-shifting abilities, are core features of several neuropsychiatric diseases. The most widely used neuropsychological tests for the evaluation of attentional set-shifting in human subjects are the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and the CANTAB Intra-/Extra-dimensional set shift task (ID/ED). These tasks have proven clinical relevance and have been modified and successfully adapted for research in animal models. However, currently available tasks for rodents present several limitations, mainly due to their manual-based testing procedures, which are hampering translational advances in psychiatric medicine. To overcome these limitations and to better mimic the original version in primates, we present the development of a novel operant-based two-chamber ID/ED "Operon" task for rodents. We demonstrated the effectiveness of this novel task to measure different facets of cognitive flexibility in mice including attentional set formation and shifting, and reversal learning. Moreover, we show the high flexibility of this task in which three different perceptual dimensions can be manipulated with a high number of stimuli cues for each dimension. This novel ID/ED Operon task can be an effective preclinical tool for drug testing and/or large genetic screening relevant to the study of executive dysfunction and cognitive symptoms found in psychiatric disorders.

Attentional set-shifting cognitive abnormalities are a core feature of many psychiatric diseases. Here, we present the development of a novel automatic system for the effective study of attentional set-shifting abilities, executive functions and other cognitive abilities in mice with high translational validity to human studies.

Alterations in executive control and cognitive flexibility, such as attentional set-shifting abilities, are core features of several neuropsychiatric ...

Determining Pain Detection and Tolerance Thresholds Using an Integrated, Multi-Modal Pain Task Battery

Human pain models are useful in the assessing the analgesic effect of drugs, providing information about a drug&#39;s pharmacology and identify potentially suitable therapeutic populations. The need to use a comprehensive battery of pain models is highlighted by studies whereby only a single pain model, thought to relate to the clinical situation, demonstrates lack of efficacy. No single experimental model can mimic the complex nature of clinical pain. The integrated, multi-modal pain task&#160;battery presented here encompasses the electrical stimulation task, pressure stimulation task, cold pressor task, the UVB inflammatory model which includes a thermal task and a paradigm for inhibitory conditioned pain modulation. These human pain models have been tested for predicative validity and reliability both in their own right and in combination, and can be used repeatedly, quickly, in short succession, with minimum burden for the subject and with a modest quantity of equipment. This allows a drug to be fully characterized and profiled for analgesic effect which is especially useful for drugs with a novel or untested mechanism of action.

Human pain models are valuable tools used to assess the analgesic potential of novel compounds and predict their clinical efficacy, especially when used in an integrated manner. Although implementation of these models is complex, with proper execution, the pain models described in this protocol can provide predictive and reliable results.

Human pain models are useful in the assessing the analgesic effect of drugs, providing information about a drug&#39;s pharmacology and identify ...

The Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory

The Deese,&#160;Roediger and McDermott&#160;(DRM) task is a false memory paradigm in which subjects are presented with lists of semantically related words (e.g., nurse, hospital, etc.) at encoding. After a delay, subjects are asked to recall or recognize these words. In the recognition memory version of the task, subjects are asked whether they remember previously presented words, as well as related (but never presented) critical lure words (&#39;doctor&#39;). Typically, the critical word is recognized with high probability and confidence. This false memory effect has been robustly demonstrated across short (e.g., immediate, 20 min) and long (e.g., 1, 7, 60 d) delays between encoding and memory testing. A strength of using this task to study false memory is its simplicity and short duration. If encoding and retrieval components of the task occur in the same session, the entire task can take as little as 2 - 30 min. However, although the DRM task is widely considered a &#39;false memory&#39; paradigm, some researchers consider DRM illusions to be based on the activation of semantic memory networks in the brain, and argue that such semantic gist-based false memory errors may actually be useful in some scenarios (e.g., remembering the forest for the trees; remembering that a word list was about &#34;doctors&#34;, even though the actual word &#34;doctor&#34; was never presented for study). Remembering the gist of experience (instead of or along with individual details) is arguably an adaptive process and this task has provided a great deal of knowledge about the constructive, adaptive nature of memory. Therefore, researchers should use caution when discussing the overall reach and implications of their experiments when using this task to study &#39;false memory&#39;, as DRM memory errors may not adequately reflect false memories in the real world, such as false memory in eyewitness testimony, or false memories of sexual abuse.

The Deese-Roediger-McDermott DRM Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory

Here we present the Deese,&#160;Roediger and McDermott&#160;(DRM) task, a tool to study false memories in the laboratory. Subjects study lists of semantically related words (e.g.,&#160;nurse, sick, etc.), and later falsely remember an unstudied word (doctor) that represents the gist, or theme, of the word list.

The Deese,&#160;Roediger and McDermott&#160;(DRM) task is a false memory paradigm in which subjects are presented with lists of semantically related words ...

The Modified Temptation Resistance Task: A Paradigm to Elicit Children's Strategic Lie-telling

The protocol for the temptation resistance paradigm was designed to elicit 2- to 8-year-old children's strategic lie-telling behaviors. The reward of transgression was intended to be too tempting to resist, so that children's spontaneous lie-telling behavior in the presence of irreversible evidence due to the transgression could be observed. Conducted in a developmental psychology laboratory behind a one-way mirror and video recorded with a hidden camcorder, the protocol starts with a guessing game where the child is given three trials to guess the identities of hidden objects under an upside down cup. The experimenter gives hints in the first two trials to make sure the child "guess" them correctly. At the beginning of the final trial, the experimenter leaves the room briefly and asks the child not to peek under the cup. If the child could not resist the temptation and peeks, small particles previously filled in the cup would scatter on a grooved surface. Upon the experimenter's return, the child is asked if he/she has peeked. If he/she denies transgression contrary to the presence of the physical evidence, he/she is asked to explain why the particles are on the table. Three responses could be observed in the procedure, including the initial transgression, truth-telling or lie-telling behavior if the child peeked, and the strategic lie-telling behavior in the presence of the physical evidence.

The Modified Temptation Resistance Task: A Paradigm to Elicit Children&#039;s Strategic Lie-telling

The protocol for the temptation resistance paradigm was designed to elicit 2- to 8-year-old children&#39;s strategic lie-telling behaviors. The reward of transgression was intended to be too tempting to resist, so that children&#39;s spontaneous lie-telling behavior in the presence of irreversible evidence due to the transgression could be observed.

The protocol for the temptation resistance paradigm was designed to elicit 2- to 8-year-old children's strategic lie-telling behaviors. The reward of ...

Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language

In a typical eye tracking study using the visual world paradigm, participants' eye movements to objects or pictures in the visual workspace are recorded via an eye tracker as the participant produces or comprehends a spoken language describing the concurrent visual world. This paradigm has high versatility, as it can be used in a wide range of populations, including those who cannot read and/or who cannot overtly give their behavioral responses, such as preliterate children, elderly adults, and patients. More importantly, the paradigm is extremely sensitive to fine grained manipulations of the speech signal, and it can be used to study the online processing of most topics in language comprehension at multiple levels, such as the fine grained acoustic phonetic features, the properties of words, and the linguistic structures. The protocol described in this article illustrates how a typical visual world eye tracking study is conducted, with an example showing how the online processing of some semantically complex statements can be explored with the visual world paradigm.

The visual world paradigm monitors participants' eye movements in the visual workspace as they are listening to or speaking a spoken language. This paradigm can be used to investigate the online processing of a wide range of psycholinguistic questions, including semantically complex statements, such as disjunctive statements.

In a typical eye tracking study using the visual world paradigm, participants' eye movements to objects or pictures in the visual workspace are recorded ...

The HoneyComb Paradigm for Research on Collective Human Behavior

Collective human behavior such as group movement frequently shows surprising patterns and regularities, such as the emergence of leadership. Recent literature has revealed that these patterns, often visible at the global level of the group, are based on self-organized, individual behaviors that follow several simple local parameters. Understanding the dynamics of human collective behavior can help to improve coordination and leadership in group and crowd scenarios, such as identifying the ideal placement and number of emergency exits in buildings.
In this article, we present the experimental paradigm HoneyComb, which can be used to systematically investigate conditions and effects of human collective behavior. This paradigm uses a computer-based multi-user platform, providing a setting that can be shaped and adapted to various types of research questions. Situational conditions (e.g., cost-benefit ratios for specific behavior, monetary incentives and resources, various degrees of uncertainty) can be set by experimenters, depending on the research question. Each participant's motions are recorded by the server as hexagonal coordinates with timestamps at an accuracy of 50 ms and with individual IDs. Thus, a metric can be defined on the playfield, and movement parameters (e.g., distances, velocity, clustering, etc.) of participants can be measured over time. Movement data can in turn be combined with non-computerized data from questionnaires garnered within the same experiment setup.
The HoneyComb paradigm is paving the way for new types of human movement experiments. We demonstrate here that these experiments can render results with sufficient internal validity to meaningfully deepen our understanding of human collective behavior.

Here, we present the computer-based, multi-agent game HoneyComb, which enables experimental investigations of collective human movement behavior via black-dot-avatars on a virtual 2D hexagonal playfield. Different experimental conditions, like variable&#160;incentives on goal fields or vision radius, can be set, and their effects on human movement behavior can be investigated.

Collective human behavior such as group movement frequently shows surprising patterns and regularities, such as the emergence of leadership. Recent ...

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm

We discuss the use of the preferential looking paradigm in eye tracking studies in order to study how infants develop, understand, and attend to the world around them. Eye tracking is a safe and non-invasive way to collect gaze data from infants, and the preferential looking paradigm is simple to design and only requires the infant to be attending to the screen. By simultaneously showing two visual stimuli that differ in one dimension, we can assess whether infants show different looking behavior for either stimulus, thus demonstrating sensitivity to that difference. The challenges in such experimental approaches are that experiments must be kept brief (no more than 10 min) and be carefully controlled such that the two stimuli differ in only one way. The interpretation of null results must also be carefully considered. In this paper, we illustrate a successful example of an infant eye tracking study with a preferential looking paradigm to discover that 6-month-olds are sensitive to linguistic cues in a signed language despite having no prior exposure to signed language, suggesting that infants possess intrinsic or innate sensitivities to these cues.

Eye tracking studies using a preferential looking paradigm can be used to study infants&#39;&#160;emerging understanding of, and attention to, their external visual world.

We discuss the use of the preferential looking paradigm in eye tracking studies in order to study how infants develop, understand, and attend to the world ...