title: Error adaptation in mental arithmetic.
abstract: Until now, error and conflict adaptation have been studied extensively using simple laboratory tasks. A common finding is that responses slow down after errors. According to the conflict monitoring theory, performance should also improve after an error. However, this is usually not observed. In this study, we investigated whether the characteristics of the experimental paradigms normally used could explain this absence. More precisely, these paradigms have in common that behavioural adaptation has little room to be expressed. We therefore studied error and conflict adaptation effects in a task that encounters the richness of everyday life's behavioural adaptation--namely, mental arithmetic, where multiple solution strategies are available. In accordance with our hypothesis, we observed that post-error accuracy increases after errors in mental arithmetic. No support for conflict adaptation in mental arithmetic was found. Implications for current theories of conflict and error monitoring are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, Ghent, Belgium. charlotte.desmet@ugent.be
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Desmet
authors.forename: Ineke
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Imbo
authors.forename: Jolien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: De Brauwer
authors.forename: Marcel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brass
authors.forename: Wim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Fias
authors.forename: Wim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Notebaert
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult