The Power of Instructions: Proactive Configuration of Stimulus-Response Translation
01 May 2015-Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition (American Psychological Association)-Vol. 41, Iss: 3, pp 768-786
TL;DR: A novel paradigm is developed and tested, and tested in 4 studies, a novel paradigm that isolates IBR effects even prior to first task execution, establishing IBR as a marker of instructed proactive control.
Abstract: Humans are characterized by an especially highly developed ability to use instructions to prepare toward upcoming events; yet, it is unclear just how powerful instructions can be. Although prior work provides evidence that instructions can be sufficiently powerful to proactively program working memory to execute stimulus–response (S-R) translations, in a reflexlike fashion (intentionbased reflexivity [IBR]), the results to date have been equivocal. To overcome this shortcoming, we developed, and tested in 4 studies, a novel paradigm (the NEXT paradigm) that isolates IBR effects even prior to first task execution. In each miniblock, participants received S-R mapping instructions for a new task. Prior to implementing this mapping, responses were required to advance through screens during a preparatory (NEXT) phase. When the NEXT response was incompatible with the instructed S-R mapping, interference (IBR effect) was observed. This NEXT compatibility effect and performance in the implementation (GO) trials barely changed when prior practice of a few trials was provided. Finally, a manipulation that encouraged preparation resulted in relatively durable NEXT compatibility effects (indicating durable preparatory efforts) coupled with improved GO performance (indicating the success of these efforts). Together, these findings establish IBR as a marker of instructed proactive control.
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TL;DR: It is found that increasingly efficient task processing during short-term practice is associated with a reorganization of large-scale network interactions and is accompanied by decreasing activation of the fronto-parietal network, indicating a release of high-level cognitive control, and a segregation of the default mode network from task-related networks.
Abstract: The human brain is organized into large-scale functional networks that can flexibly reconfigure their connectivity patterns, supporting both rapid adaptive control and long-term learning processes. However, it has remained unclear how short-term network dynamics support the rapid transformation of instructions into fluent behaviour. Comparing fMRI data of a learning sample (N=70) with a control sample (N=67), we find that increasingly efficient task processing during short-term practice is associated with a reorganization of large-scale network interactions. Practice-related efficiency gains are facilitated by enhanced coupling between the cingulo-opercular network and the dorsal attention network. Simultaneously, short-term task automatization is accompanied by decreasing activation of the fronto-parietal network, indicating a release of high-level cognitive control, and a segregation of the default mode network from task-related networks. These findings suggest that short-term task automatization is enabled by the brain’s ability to rapidly reconfigure its large-scale network organization involving complementary integration and segregation processes. Humans can quickly learn to efficiently execute tasks yet how the brain activity is dynamically reconfigured during this process remains unknown. Here the authors demonstrate that large-scale functional brain networks are reorganized flexibly to support rapid task automation.
130 citations
01 Jan 2017
97 citations
TL;DR: It is hypothesized that instructed facts would be organized into a task set; a temporary coding scheme that proactively tunes sensorimotor pathways according to instructions to enable highly efficient “reflex‐like” performance.
Abstract: Task preparation has traditionally been thought to rely upon persistent representations of instructions that permit their execution after delays. Accumulating evidence suggests, however, that accurate retention of task knowledge can be insufficient for successful performance. Here, we hypothesized that instructed facts would be organized into a task set; a temporary coding scheme that proactively tunes sensorimotor pathways according to instructions to enable highly efficient "reflex-like" performance. We devised a paradigm requiring either implementation or memorization of novel stimulus-response mapping instructions, and used multivoxel pattern analysis of neuroimaging data to compare neural coding of instructions during the pretarget phase. Although participants could retain instructions under both demands, we observed striking differences in their representation. To-be-memorized instructions could only be decoded from mid-occipital and posterior parietal cortices, consistent with previous work on visual short-term memory storage. In contrast, to-be-implemented instructions could also be decoded from frontoparietal "multiple-demand" regions, and dedicated visual areas, implicated in processing instructed stimuli. Neural specificity in the latter moreover correlated with performance speed only when instructions were prepared, likely reflecting the preconfiguration of instructed decision circuits. Together, these data illuminate how the brain proactively optimizes performance, and help dissociate neural mechanisms supporting task control and short-term memory storage.
64 citations
Cites background or result from "The Power of Instructions: Proactiv..."
...Further studies have shown that active preparation, but notmemorization, of task instructions creates vulnerability to response primingwhen the instructed stimuli are encountered in a nested secondary task (Cohen-Kdoshay and Meiran 2009; Liefooghe et al. 2012, 2013; Meiran et al. 2012, 2014)....
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...Our results indicate that proactive control over novel task demands can take the form of a “prepared reflex” (Hommel 2000; Meiran et al. 2014)....
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...Yet, although learning from instruction is ubiquitous in daily life and unique in its efficiency, little is known about the precise mechanisms that give rise to this capacity (Wenke and Frensch 2005; Wenke et al. 2007; Meiran et al. 2014)....
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TL;DR: The observation that successful instruction following seems to require both the capacity to understand verbal information, but also the ability to transform this information into a procedural format is discussed.
63 citations
TL;DR: This work suggests that RITL‐based proactive control ‐ the preparatory biasing of task‐relevant functional network routes ‐ results in inflexible associative processing, demanding compensation in the form of increased reactive (in‐the‐moment) control.
56 citations
References
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TL;DR: It is proposed that cognitive control stems from the active maintenance of patterns of activity in the prefrontal cortex that represent goals and the means to achieve them, which provide bias signals to other brain structures whose net effect is to guide the flow of activity along neural pathways that establish the proper mappings between inputs, internal states, and outputs needed to perform a given task.
Abstract: ▪ Abstract The prefrontal cortex has long been suspected to play an important role in cognitive control, in the ability to orchestrate thought and action in accordance with internal goals. Its neural basis, however, has remained a mystery. Here, we propose that cognitive control stems from the active maintenance of patterns of activity in the prefrontal cortex that represent goals and the means to achieve them. They provide bias signals to other brain structures whose net effect is to guide the flow of activity along neural pathways that establish the proper mappings between inputs, internal states, and outputs needed to perform a given task. We review neurophysiological, neurobiological, neuroimaging, and computational studies that support this theory and discuss its implications as well as further issues to be addressed
10,943 citations
"The Power of Instructions: Proactiv..." refers background in this paper
...By contrast, goal-directed (i.e., newly instructed) behavior relies on maintaining the relevant task in WM (Miller & Cohen, 2001) and preventing new input from interfering with WM contents....
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TL;DR: Tested the 2-process theory of detection, search, and attention presented by the current authors (1977) in a series of experiments and demonstrated the qualitative difference between 2 modes of information processing: automatic detection and controlled search.
Abstract: Tested the 2-process theory of detection, search, and attention presented by the current authors (1977) in a series of experiments. The studies (a) demonstrate the qualitative difference between 2 modes of information processing: automatic detection and controlled search; (b) trace the course of the
7,032 citations
"The Power of Instructions: Proactiv..." refers background in this paper
...…contemporary literature, are acquired through repeated overt task execution, which results in LTM modification either through a change in processing efficiency (Anderson, 1982; Rosenbloom & Newell, 1986; Shiffrin & Schneider, 1977) or through the accumulation of episodic traces (Logan, 1988, 1992)....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors propose to delegate the control of goal-directed responses to anticipated situational cues, which elicit these responses automatically when actually encountered, and demonstrate that implementation intentions further the attainment of goals.
Abstract: When people encounter problems in translating their goals into action (e.g., failing to get started, becoming distracted, or falling into bad habits), they may strategically call on automatic processes in an attempt to secure goal attainment. This can be achieved by plans in the form of implementation intentions that link anticipated critical situations to goal-directed responses ("Whenever situation x arises, I will initiate the goal-directed response y!"). Implementation intentions delegate the control of goal-directed responses to anticipated situational cues, which (when actually encountered) elicit these responses automatically. A program of research demonstrates that implementation intentions further the attainment of goals, and it reveals the underlying processes.
4,631 citations
"The Power of Instructions: Proactiv..." refers background in this paper
...The PR idea has been influential (sometimes indirectly) in diverse areas of psychological science, including planning and motivation (e.g., Gollwitzer, 1999), human performance (e.g., Logan, 1978), and the concept of mind-set (Gibson, 1941; Langer, 2000; Luchins, 1942)....
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TL;DR: In this paper, a framework for skill acquisition is proposed that includes two major stages in the development of a cognitive skill: a declarative stage in which facts about the skill domain are interpreted and a procedural stage where the domain knowledge is directly embodied in procedures for performing the skill.
Abstract: A framework for skill acquisition is proposed that includes two major stages in the development of a cognitive skill: a declarative stage in which facts about the skill domain are interpreted and a procedural stage in which the domain knowledge is directly embodied in procedures for performing the skill. This general framework has been instantiated in the ACT system in which facts are encoded in a propositional network and procedures are encoded as productions. Knowledge compilation is the process by which the skill transits from the declarative stage to the procedural stage. It consists of the subprocesses of composition, which collapses sequences of productions into single productions, and proceduralization, which embeds factual knowledge into productions. Once proceduralized, further learning processes operate on the skill to make the productions more selective in their range of applications. These processes include generalization, discrimination, and strengthening of productions. Comparisons are made to similar concepts from past learning theories. How these learning mechanisms apply to produce the power law speedup in processing time with practice is discussed.
3,539 citations
"The Power of Instructions: Proactiv..." refers background or result in this paper
...Efficiency means being quick and error free (e.g., Anderson, 1982; Rosenbloom & Newell, 1986)....
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...This conclusion is in line with the literature on skill-based automaticity (Anderson, 1982; Logan, 1988; Rosenbloom & Newell, 1986) indicating that automaticity requires many task executions....
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...…contemporary literature, are acquired through repeated overt task execution, which results in LTM modification either through a change in processing efficiency (Anderson, 1982; Rosenbloom & Newell, 1986; Shiffrin & Schneider, 1977) or through the accumulation of episodic traces (Logan, 1988, 1992)....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a theory in which automatization is construed as the acquisition of a domainspeciSc knowledge base, formed of separate representations, instances, of each exposure to the task.
Abstract: This article presents a theory in which automatization is construed as the acquisition of a domainspeciSc knowledge base, formed of separate representations, instances, of each exposure to the task. Processing is considered automatic if it relies on retrieval of stored instances, which will occur only after practice in a consistent environment. Practice is important because it increases the amount retrieved and the speed of retrieval; consistency is important because it ensures that the retrieved instances will be useful. The theory accounts quantitatively for the power-function speed-up and predicts a power-function reduction in the standard deviation that is constrained to have the same exponent as the power function for the speed-up. The theory accounts for qualitative properties as well, explaining how some may disappear and others appear with practice. More generally, it provides an alternative to the modal view of automaticity, arguing that novice performance is limited by a lack of knowledge rather than a scarcity of resources. The focus on learning avoids many problems with the modal view that stem from its focus on resource limitations.
3,222 citations