title: How the Brain Converts Negative Evaluation into Performance Facilitation.
abstract: Surpassing negative evaluation is a recurrent theme of success stories. Yet, there is little evidence supporting the counterintuitive idea that negative evaluation might not only motivate people, but also enhance performance. To address this question, we designed a task that required participants to decide whether taking up a risky challenge after receiving positive or negative evaluations from independent judges. Participants believed that these evaluations were based on their prior performance on a related task. Results showed that negative evaluation caused a facilitation in performance. Concurrent functional magnetic resonance imaging revealed that the motivating effect of negative evaluation was represented in the insula and striatum, while the performance boost was associated with functional positive connectivity between the insula and a set of brain regions involved in goal-directed behavior and the orienting of attention. These findings provide new insight into the neural representation of negative evaluation-induced facilitation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Columbia University, NY, USA.|Department of Neuroscience, University of Geneva, CH-1211 Geneva 14, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Prévost
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Franz Hall, 502 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
authors.forename: Hakwan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Columbia University, NY, USA.|Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd., MC 228-77, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
authors.forename: Dean
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mobbs
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D012309:Risk-Taking; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: decision-making; neuroimaging; performance; psychological reactance