Effects of subjective and objective task difficulties for feedback- related brain potentials in social situations: An electroencephalogram study.

In this study, the relationship between two types of feedback task difficulties and feedback-related brain potentials, such as feedback-related negativity (FRN), reward positivity (RewP), and P300, was investigated in social situations where participants performed a task simultaneously by a pair. Th...

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Main Authors: Yusuke Yokota, Yasushi Naruse
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2022-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0277663
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author Yusuke Yokota
Yasushi Naruse
author_facet Yusuke Yokota
Yasushi Naruse
author_sort Yusuke Yokota
collection DOAJ
description In this study, the relationship between two types of feedback task difficulties and feedback-related brain potentials, such as feedback-related negativity (FRN), reward positivity (RewP), and P300, was investigated in social situations where participants performed a task simultaneously by a pair. The electroencephalogram activity was measured while participants answered four-choice questions with their partners. Participants were informed about the general accuracy rate of the question (objective task difficulty) before responding to the questionnaire. The feedback outcome was definitely correct when the participants had the knowledge to answer the questions correctly. Therefore, the subjective task difficulty depended on the knowledge of the participant and differed from the objective task difficulty. In the task, the participants selected the choice they deemed correct. Before checking the answers, participants responded to the preceding question's subjective task difficulty. As one of the social factors, the task consisted of two types of conditions: one, in which one's response affected partner's reward, and another, in which it did not. The second social factor was the order of feedback outcomes; in our experiment, these outcomes were presented sequentially to pairs of participants. The effects of subjective and objective task difficulties and social factors on feedback-related brain potentials were comprehensively analyzed. The study showed that subjective task difficulty sensitively modulated the amplitude of gain-related P300, suggesting that it is sensitive to modulation in the allocation of attentional resources to own feedback outcome. The objective task difficulty sensitively modulated the amplitude of RewP after receiving the partner's incorrect feedback outcome. RewP was more sensitive to positive affective valence, such as feelings of superiority over the partner, than to task-dependent rewards received by the participants themselves. In contrast, FRN was more negative in the joint condition than in the individual condition, suggesting sensitivity to social responsibility felt by participants toward their partners.
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spelling doaj.art-736dd40ce2c844c1ae4724f303c91b6b2023-01-11T05:32:42ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-011712e027766310.1371/journal.pone.0277663Effects of subjective and objective task difficulties for feedback- related brain potentials in social situations: An electroencephalogram study.Yusuke YokotaYasushi NaruseIn this study, the relationship between two types of feedback task difficulties and feedback-related brain potentials, such as feedback-related negativity (FRN), reward positivity (RewP), and P300, was investigated in social situations where participants performed a task simultaneously by a pair. The electroencephalogram activity was measured while participants answered four-choice questions with their partners. Participants were informed about the general accuracy rate of the question (objective task difficulty) before responding to the questionnaire. The feedback outcome was definitely correct when the participants had the knowledge to answer the questions correctly. Therefore, the subjective task difficulty depended on the knowledge of the participant and differed from the objective task difficulty. In the task, the participants selected the choice they deemed correct. Before checking the answers, participants responded to the preceding question's subjective task difficulty. As one of the social factors, the task consisted of two types of conditions: one, in which one's response affected partner's reward, and another, in which it did not. The second social factor was the order of feedback outcomes; in our experiment, these outcomes were presented sequentially to pairs of participants. The effects of subjective and objective task difficulties and social factors on feedback-related brain potentials were comprehensively analyzed. The study showed that subjective task difficulty sensitively modulated the amplitude of gain-related P300, suggesting that it is sensitive to modulation in the allocation of attentional resources to own feedback outcome. The objective task difficulty sensitively modulated the amplitude of RewP after receiving the partner's incorrect feedback outcome. RewP was more sensitive to positive affective valence, such as feelings of superiority over the partner, than to task-dependent rewards received by the participants themselves. In contrast, FRN was more negative in the joint condition than in the individual condition, suggesting sensitivity to social responsibility felt by participants toward their partners.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0277663
spellingShingle Yusuke Yokota
Yasushi Naruse
Effects of subjective and objective task difficulties for feedback- related brain potentials in social situations: An electroencephalogram study.
PLoS ONE
title Effects of subjective and objective task difficulties for feedback- related brain potentials in social situations: An electroencephalogram study.
title_full Effects of subjective and objective task difficulties for feedback- related brain potentials in social situations: An electroencephalogram study.
title_fullStr Effects of subjective and objective task difficulties for feedback- related brain potentials in social situations: An electroencephalogram study.
title_full_unstemmed Effects of subjective and objective task difficulties for feedback- related brain potentials in social situations: An electroencephalogram study.
title_short Effects of subjective and objective task difficulties for feedback- related brain potentials in social situations: An electroencephalogram study.
title_sort effects of subjective and objective task difficulties for feedback related brain potentials in social situations an electroencephalogram study
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0277663
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