The Effect Of Emotional Motivation On Cognitive Control Function

Emotion, accompanying every moment of people’s life, is the background of all cognitive activities, and affects the performance of cognitive processing. Cognitive control functions, such as inhibition and switching are a kind of advanced cognitive ability to intentionallly control the basic cognitive process. This function enable individuals to reach their goals flexibly and dynamically with limited cognitive resources according to the inner goals and external environment.The current research on the role of emotions promoting or inhibiting cognitive control has not yet reach a consistent conclusion. According to Gable and Harmon-Jones’s motivational dimensional model of affect, in addition to the valence and arousal dimension, emotion also has a third dimension which is the motivation. The motivational strength of emotion plays a key role in the cognitive processing such as the breadth of attention, memory, and cognitive categorisation. Specifically, eomtion high in motivational intensity should narrow the scope of cognitive processing; in contrast, eomtion low in motivational intensity should broaden the cognitive processing range. Inspired by the motivational dimensional model of affect, it’s found that in most previous work on the cognitive control consequences of emotion, research has focused on the valence and arousal dimensions, while the motivational dimension was rarely considered.Three studies including a total of six experiments were carried out in this paper to test the effect of emotional motivativation on cognitive control function. And further using the ERPs technology to investigate the time course mechanism of emotional motivation influencing inhibition and switching function. Finally investigating the emotional motivation influence of depressed individuals on the inhibition and switching function.In study 1, five groups of pictures were choosed from the Chinese Affective Picture System (CAPS), International Affective Picture System (IAPS) and the Internet resource, and each group included 60 pieces of pictures:food pictures (inducing emotion of high approaching motivational intensity), funny pictures (inducing emotion of low approaching motivational intensity), object pictures (neutral contrast condition), sad pictures (inducing emotion of low avoidance motivational intensity), fear pictures (inducing emotion of high avoidance motivational intensity). The valence, arousal and motivation of each picture were evaluated from 1 to 9 by 35 participants. The results showed that there was significant difference only in motivational intensity whin the same motivational direction, but not valence and arousal. The results satisfied the experiment requirement that controling valence and arousal and manipulating motivation. In experiment 1,30 participants were induced emotion varing in motivation, then completed the double choosing oddball task. We could test the emotional motivation’s influence on inhibition function by analyzing the participants reaction to the deviation stimuli in the oddball task. In experiment 2,32 participants were induced emotion varing in motivation, then completed the switching task. We could test the emotional motivation’s influence on switching function by analyzing the participants reaction under the switching condition.In study 2, ERPs technology was adopted to investigate the neural mechanisms of avoidance mitivational emotion influencing the cognitive control function. In experiment 3,22 participants completed the oddball task again following emotion pictures with different avoidance motivational intensity. The time course mechanism of emotional motivation influencing inhibition was to investigated. In experiment 4, 22 participants completed the switching task again following emotion pictures with different avoidance motivational intensity. The time course mechanism of emotional motivation influencing switching was to investigated.In study 3, the individual differences were investigated. Human’s emotional characteristics may affect the relationship between emotion and cognitive processing, so depressed individuals were screened in this study.26 depressed and 26 normal participants took part in experiment 5. The individual difference of emotional motivation influencing inhibitition function was investigated.24 depressed and 24 normal participants took part in experiment 6. The individual difference of emotional motivation influencing switching function was investigated.The conclusion was made as follows based on the findings of the three studies:(1) According to the results of behavioral responses, the cognitive control function was regulated by both the emotional motivational direction and strength: Under the direction of approaching motivation, emotion of high motivational intensity impared inhibition and switching function, while emotion of low motivational intensity facilitated inhibition and switching function; Under the avoidance motivational direction, emotion of high motivational strength also impared inhibition and switching function, while emotion of low motivational intensity had no effect on cognitive control function.(2) The timing course that avoidance motivational emotion affected inhibition function was different:Emotion of high avoidance motivational intensity interferenced inhibition function in the early stage of processing (N1 latency was shorter, P2 amplitude was smaller), conflict monitoring stage (N2 amplitude was larger, the latency was longer) and inhibiting phase (P3 amplitude was smaller, the latency was longer); Emotion of low avoidance motivational intensity interferenced inhibition function in the early stage of processing (P2 latency was shorter, amplitude was smaller) and inhibiting phase (P3 amplitude was smaller, the latency was longer).(3) The timing course that avoidance motivational mood affected switching function was similar:both interfered the switching function in the early stage of processing (N1 latency was longer, P2 amplitude was smaller), conflict monitoring phase (N2 amplitude was larger, the latency was longer) and transfering phase (P3 amplitude was smaller).(4) The depressed participants showed default in inhibition function, but not in switching function.(5) The inhibition function of depressed individuals was regulated by both the emotional motivational direction and strength:Under the direction of approaching motivation, emotion of high motivational intensity impared inhibition function, while emotion of low motivational intensity facilitated inhibition function; Under the avoidance motivational direction, emotion of high and low motivational strength both impared inhibition function.(6) The switching function of depressed individuals was regulated by the emotional motivational direction:Under the direction of approaching motivation, emotion of high and low motivational intensity had no effect on switching function; Under the avoidance motivational direction, emotion of high and low motivational strength both impared switching function.