Abstract
Prediction and cognitive control are hindered by uncertainty in achieving goal-directed behaviours. Specifically, the prediction of engagement decreases when facing increasing contextual uncertainty, and the involvement of cognitive control increases as immediate uncertainty grows. However, it is unclear how the relationship between predictions and cognitive control operates when individuals are simultaneously confronted with both contextual and immediate uncertainties. In the present study, we investigated and found an interaction effect of immediate and contextual uncertainty in the associated majority function task (aMFT). Principal component analysis revealed that contextual uncertainty in aMFT shared a common component with immediate uncertainty in aMFTs, n-backs, and flanker tasks. These results suggested that prediction under contextual uncertainty and cognitive control may share a common process related to an adaptive homogenization of two types of uncertainty in early information processing flow. This study provides further evidence for uncertainty processing mechanisms.
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Data availability
The datasets used for the analyses in this study are available from the corresponding author.
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This work was supported by China National Education Scientific Planning Project (No.: DBA230368).
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Y. A. P. and X. W. conceived the study; Y. A. P., M. J. G. and X. W. analyzed the data. All authors discussed the results and contributed to the writing of the paper.
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Pan, Y., Guo, M., Jiang, Y. et al. The interplay of contextual and immediate uncertainty: evidence for a common processing mechanism in prediction and cognitive control. Curr Psychol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-05755-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-05755-6