G. Dreisbach: Reasons to switch: Flexibility as a matter of context, effort and time

Abstract
One of the hallmarks of human cognition is the flexibility to adjust action
and thought to changing demands from the environment. The
(voluntary) task switching paradigm is the prime tool to study cognitive
flexibility, as it allows measuring the ability (switch costs) and the
motivation (voluntary switch rates) to switch between cognitive tasks. In
this talk, I will review recent research from our lab, showing how switch
costs and voluntary switch rates are modulated by the task context and
changing reward prospects. I will further outline how task difficulty,
individual switching ability, and subjective effort- and time-cost
estimations influence performance in the (voluntary) task switching
paradigm. In sum, our findings suggest that flexibility is not only a
matter of contextual adjustment of cognitive control. The decision to
switch can also be described as the result of a cost-benefit analysis with
both objective and subjective evaluations being part of the equation.

Website of Prof. Gesine Dreisbach