Memory in immersive virtual reality (VR) may depend on the encoding context and on users’ control over virtual exploration. We examined memory for a single immersive episode in 234 young adults using a 2 × 3 between-subjects design crossing navigation control (self-directed vs. automated movement) with affective audiovisual context (pleasant, unpleasant, neutral). Memory was assessed through free recall, visual-feature memory, spatial-location memory, and complementary error indices. One effect held up under Holm correction across the three non-derived memory-performance outcomes. Free recall differed across affective contexts, F(2, 228) = 4.75, p = .010, ω² = 0.031, Holm-adjusted p = .030, with lower recall in the unpleasant than in the neutral condition, and the difference remained evident after adjustment for age, gender, and prior VR experience. Navigation control showed no robust general association with the principal memory-performance outcomes. A localized navigation-control × affective-context pattern emerged for spatial false object reports (raw p = .032), but the interaction did not survive correction across the corresponding family of memory-error tests (Holm-adjusted p = .192) and is treated as exploratory. The unpleasant–neutral contrast cannot be attributed uniquely to emotional valence, because the neutral condition lacked the concurrent audiovisual stream present in the affective conditions and may therefore differ in attentional or other stimulus properties. The results yield one multiplicity-robust performance effect and a set of exploratory error patterns; together they argue for tighter control of audiovisual and attentional features in immersive-memory research.
Effects of proactive control on response inhibition have previously been studied using tasks such as the stop signal task in which participants are required to inhibit a single, isolated motor response. However, skilled, coordinated behavior often involves the execution of learned sequences of motor actions in which each action triggers the next with a degree of automaticity. Across three experiments, we investigated the effects of proactive control and reward incentives on the frequency of errors in a motor sequence learning task that requires inhibition of sequentially triggered motor actions. We observed graded effects of proactive control on inhibition success. Although cues indicating an upcoming stop trial led to a marked reduction in the frequency of slips-of-action, errors continued to occur despite significant cue-induced proactive slowing. When cues were combined with incentives for successful stopping, proactive control increased further, with an additional reduction in frequency of slips-of-action. These findings show that the effectiveness of proactive control in suppressing automatically triggered actions within learned sequences is jointly determined by the depth of proactive slowing and the motivational context.
Cognitive control is characterized by severe capacity limitations, yet it remains unclear whether performance constraints across different cognitive control processes reflect independent limitations or shared capacity-related constraints. To investigate this question, we adopted an individual-differences approach and multimethod analyses to examine how cognitive control capacity (CCC), defined as the maximum rate at which the cognitive control system can successfully process task-relevant information, is associated with performance across multiple cognitive-control processes. A sample of 197 healthy adults completed a modified backward-masking majority function task (MFTM-A) that adaptively estimated each participant’s exposure-time threshold at a fixed information load, from which CCC was derived (bits per second). These participants also completed a multi-component battery assessing domain-specific functions including working memory (N-back), inhibition (Go/No-Go, Stop-Signal), flexibility (task switching), proactive/reactive control (AX-CPT) and attentional functions (alerting, orienting and conflict). Results showed that CCC was significantly associated with several cognitive-control measures: higher CCC was associated with greater N-back accuracy, better AX-CPT discriminability, higher No-Go accuracy, and reduced switch costs. Network analysis indicated that proactive control and response inhibition occupied the most central positions in the network, whereas CCC showed selective connections with high-load control measures. A least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression identified 3-back accuracy as the most robust unique predictor of CCC. These findings suggest that CCC reflects a selective throughput-related constraint that is closely tied to high-load working memory updating and extends to selected control processes requiring sustained and flexible information processing. Methodologically, this study illustrates how network analysis and sparsity-based modelling can be combined to clarify both the organization of cognitive-control measures and the behavioral predictors of CCC.
While adaptive decision-making requires balancing exploration and exploitation, dominant accounts often treat this trade-off as independent of social context. Drawing on theories of self-function and motivated cognition, we tested whether deciding for oneself versus others alters exploration-exploitation dynamics. Across two experiments, participants completed a restless multi-armed bandit task for themselves or a close friend under gain (Experiment 1) and loss (Experiment 2) conditions. Results indicated that self-other differences in choice behavior emerged dynamically over time rather than reflecting a static bias. An additional computational modeling analysis revealed that self-relevance was associated with increased sensitivity to value differences (i.e., inverse temperature), consistent with more deterministic choice (i.e., exploitation). Taken together, these findings demonstrate that self-relevance does not merely influence learning but dynamically shapes decision policies over time. More broadly, the results highlight the importance of motivational context in regulating how individuals balance information gain and reward during value-based decisions.
Prospective memory (PM) concerns the ability to fulfil intentions in the future. Research suggested that PM is associated with spontaneous cognition. However, the role of spontaneous thoughts during intention retention remains unclear. The present study aimed to investigate prospective bias in spontaneous thoughts specifically related to pending intentions, and whether these thoughts were associated with PM performance. Healthy young adults completed the Prospective Activity Fluency Task to generate daily PM tasks, and the Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire to assess everyday PM failures. Spontaneous thoughts were collected by experience sampling, and categorized into pre-defined types, including PM-related, other future-oriented, and past-oriented thoughts. The results showed significant differences in the frequency of spontaneous thought types, with PM-related spontaneous thoughts occurring significantly more frequently than past-oriented ones. A higher proportion of PM-related spontaneous thoughts was significantly correlated with a fewer frequency of PM failures in everyday life. The current finding partially supports the hypothesis that there is a future-oriented natural reminding mechanism in the mind, constituting part of the prospective bias observed in spontaneous thoughts, which in turn is associated with better PM performance. These findings expand our understanding of the role of spontaneous cognition in PM.
