title: Performance monitoring and the causal attribution of errors.
abstract: The present study investigated the role of causal attribution for performance monitoring in the medial frontal cortex. To this end, we compared internally and externally-caused errors in a selective attention task with respect to error-related EEG activity and error-induced adjustments of speed and attentional selectivity. Both error types evoked early negativities and later positivities in the response-locked event-related potential. However, whereas internally-caused errors caused posterror slowing, externally-caused errors were followed by reduced attentional selectivity. Moreover, the amount of reduced attentional selectivity was related to the amplitude of the early negativity on externally-caused errors. This suggests that posterror adjustments are initiated on the basis of perceived causality and, thus, causal attribution of errors.
authors.affiliation: Fachbereich Psychologie, University of Konstanz, Germany. Marco.Steinhauser@uni-konstanz.de
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Steinhauser
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kiesel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology