The Effect Of Error Monitoring On Error Detection Behaviors In A Speeded Choice Task

Errors occur when people doing a speeded choice task. Shortly after they occur, people can quickly be aware of them and do a correction. The monitoring on errors belongs to error detection. In order to better understand the basical human cognitive progress and the development of human adaptive behavior, it is very important and meaningful to investigate the mechanism of error detection.The present study investigated the mechanisms underlying error detection by testing between a response monitoring account and a conflict monitoring account. According to the response monitoring, error detection is caused by a mismatch between overt response and internal correction response. Meanwhile, according to the conflict monitoring, error detection is caused by a detection of activated responses’ conflict.In this study, we used a color-word Stroop paradigm. In experiment1, we controlled response deadline to manipulate response threshold. We tried to dissociate error signaling response (ESR) from error correction response (ECR) by manipulating response threshold. In experiment2, we introduced work memory load as a variable to investigate the cognitive control in error detection. The result showed that:(1) Dissociation between ESRs and ECRs was observed in exp.l. There was a significant difference of ECRs between different response deadline conditions. ECRs became shorter while the response threshold was lower. We did not have the same result in ESRs.(2) In a speeded choice task, the error detection is based on conflict monitoring, resulting in the dissociation between ESRs and ECRs.(3) Working memory load had no effect on both ESRs and ECRs during a low perceptual load condition.