Motivation and emotional distraction interact and affect executive functions
Abstract Previous research on cool-hot executive function (EF) interactions has examined the effects of motivation and emotional distraction on cool EF separately, focusing on one EF component at a time. Although both incentives and emotional distractors have been shown to modulate attention, how th...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2024-04-01
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| Series: | BMC Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-024-01695-9 |
| _version_ | 1797219491195650048 |
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| author | Michael K. Yeung Jaden Cheuk-Hei Wan Michelle Mei-Ka Chan Sam Ho-Yu Cheung Steven Chun-Yui Sze Winnie Wing-Yi Siu |
| author_facet | Michael K. Yeung Jaden Cheuk-Hei Wan Michelle Mei-Ka Chan Sam Ho-Yu Cheung Steven Chun-Yui Sze Winnie Wing-Yi Siu |
| author_sort | Michael K. Yeung |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Previous research on cool-hot executive function (EF) interactions has examined the effects of motivation and emotional distraction on cool EF separately, focusing on one EF component at a time. Although both incentives and emotional distractors have been shown to modulate attention, how they interact and affect cool EF processes is still unclear. Here, we used an experimental paradigm that manipulated updating, inhibition, and shifting demands to determine the interactions of motivation and emotional distraction in the context of cool EF. Forty-five young adults (16 males, 29 females) completed the go/no-go (inhibition), two-back (updating), and task-switching (shifting) tasks. Monetary incentives were implemented to manipulate motivation, and task-irrelevant threatening or neutral faces were presented before the target stimulus to manipulate emotional distraction. We found that incentives significantly improved no-go accuracy, two-back accuracy, and reaction time (RT) switch cost. While emotional distractors had no significant effects on overall task performance, they abolished the incentive effects on no-go accuracy and RT switch cost. Altogether, these findings suggest that motivation and emotional distraction interact in the context of cool EF. Specifically, transient emotional distraction disrupts the upregulation of control activated by incentives. The present investigation has advanced knowledge about the relationship between cool and hot EF and highlights the importance of considering motivation–emotion interactions for a fuller understanding of control. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T12:34:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dca86e919b494d3ab671814c8bbf3b5e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-7283 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T12:34:29Z |
| publishDate | 2024-04-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-dca86e919b494d3ab671814c8bbf3b5e2024-04-07T11:34:43ZengBMCBMC Psychology2050-72832024-04-0112111010.1186/s40359-024-01695-9Motivation and emotional distraction interact and affect executive functionsMichael K. Yeung0Jaden Cheuk-Hei Wan1Michelle Mei-Ka Chan2Sam Ho-Yu Cheung3Steven Chun-Yui Sze4Winnie Wing-Yi Siu5Department of Psychology, The Education University of Hong KongDepartment of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityDepartment of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityDepartment of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityDepartment of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityDepartment of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityAbstract Previous research on cool-hot executive function (EF) interactions has examined the effects of motivation and emotional distraction on cool EF separately, focusing on one EF component at a time. Although both incentives and emotional distractors have been shown to modulate attention, how they interact and affect cool EF processes is still unclear. Here, we used an experimental paradigm that manipulated updating, inhibition, and shifting demands to determine the interactions of motivation and emotional distraction in the context of cool EF. Forty-five young adults (16 males, 29 females) completed the go/no-go (inhibition), two-back (updating), and task-switching (shifting) tasks. Monetary incentives were implemented to manipulate motivation, and task-irrelevant threatening or neutral faces were presented before the target stimulus to manipulate emotional distraction. We found that incentives significantly improved no-go accuracy, two-back accuracy, and reaction time (RT) switch cost. While emotional distractors had no significant effects on overall task performance, they abolished the incentive effects on no-go accuracy and RT switch cost. Altogether, these findings suggest that motivation and emotional distraction interact in the context of cool EF. Specifically, transient emotional distraction disrupts the upregulation of control activated by incentives. The present investigation has advanced knowledge about the relationship between cool and hot EF and highlights the importance of considering motivation–emotion interactions for a fuller understanding of control.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-024-01695-9Executive functionEmotionMotivationShiftingInhibitionUpdating |
| spellingShingle | Michael K. Yeung Jaden Cheuk-Hei Wan Michelle Mei-Ka Chan Sam Ho-Yu Cheung Steven Chun-Yui Sze Winnie Wing-Yi Siu Motivation and emotional distraction interact and affect executive functions BMC Psychology Executive function Emotion Motivation Shifting Inhibition Updating |
| title | Motivation and emotional distraction interact and affect executive functions |
| title_full | Motivation and emotional distraction interact and affect executive functions |
| title_fullStr | Motivation and emotional distraction interact and affect executive functions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Motivation and emotional distraction interact and affect executive functions |
| title_short | Motivation and emotional distraction interact and affect executive functions |
| title_sort | motivation and emotional distraction interact and affect executive functions |
| topic | Executive function Emotion Motivation Shifting Inhibition Updating |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-024-01695-9 |
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