Frederick Verbruggen’s research while affiliated with Ghent University and other places


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Publications (177)


Early-life group size influences response inhibition, but not the learning of it, in Japanese quails
  • Article

September 2024

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21 Reads

Learning & Behavior

Kathryn Willcox

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Frederick Verbruggen

In complex social environments, animals benefit from suppressing inappropriate responses (known as Response Inhibition) to avoid conflicts and maintain group cohesion. Recent research suggests that an individual's early-life social environment can shape their response inhibition. However, these findings have mostly been correlational, and results vary across species. Furthermore, the role of learning is often overlooked when measuring response inhibition, despite its potential importance to understanding group differences. We investigated the effect of early-life group size, a key determinant of social complexity, on response inhibition in Japanese quails (Coturnix japonica), whilst taking the role of learning into account. Quails (n = 120) were raised in either small groups of five or large groups of 15 individuals. Response inhibition was assessed using the cylinder task. Up to ten trials were administered to assess whether the birds’ responses changed with increasing experience of the task. Among the quails that completed ten trials, we found that those raised in large groups consistently spent less time pecking the cylinder than those raised in small groups. The quails’ responses were also influenced by their body condition, food motivation and sex. Importantly, the quails learned to inhibit their responses – successful trials increased, and time spent pecking the cylinder decreased, across ten trials. However, learning rates did not differ between the treatment groups. These findings suggest that early-life social group size promotes the development of response inhibition in quails, but not their learning of it, during the cylinder task.


Escalating frustration - A replication attempt and extension of Yu et al. (2014)

July 2024

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27 Reads

Open Research Europe

Background Failures to obtain a desired reward, such as losing money in gambling, can lead to frustration. In gambling, this frustration has been shown to take the form of faster responses after losses compared with wins and non-gambling trials. In addition, reward omission or blockage can lead to more forceful responses. Yu and colleagues (2014) showed that the proximity to a reward and the effort already expended to acquire the reward increased participants’ response force and their retrospective self-reported frustration when the reward was blocked. Methods In this study, we attempted to replicate the findings of Yu and colleagues (2014) using the same experimental procedure. In each schedule, participants (N = 32) needed to complete an arrow direction task for varying numbers of times to win a reward but could be blocked at any stage. The response time (RT) and force of confirming the outcomes were used as indicators of ‘frustration’. In addition, to obtain a more real-time and objective measure of (negative) emotion, we measured facial electromyographic (EMG) activity over the corrugator supercilii (frowning muscle) and the zygomaticus (smiling muscle). Results Due to technical problems, our data on response force were invalid. In line with the original study, both goal proximity and exerted effort increased participants’ self-reported motivation in the task and frustration after being blocked. An exploratory analysis showed that participants were slower in confirming an outcome when they were blocked closer to the reward, while exerted effort did not influence confirm RT. These RT data were consistent with self-reported surprise ratings, suggesting an orienting response. In the facial EMG data, we observed no difference between wins and losses in activity over the corrugator or the zygomaticus. Conclusion Taken together, these data suggest that reward blockage does not necessarily lead to behavioral or psychophysiological expressions of negative emotions such as frustration.


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Outputs for the GLMMs Assessing Performance in the Cylinder Task
Early-Life Group Size Does Not Influence Japanese Quails’ Learning in a Response Inhibition Task
  • Preprint
  • File available

June 2024

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66 Reads

In complex social environments, animals benefit from suppressing inappropriate responses (known as Response Inhibition - RI) to avoid conflicts and maintain group cohesion. Recent research suggests that an individual’s early-life social environment can shape their RI. However, these findings have mostly been correlational, and results vary across species. Furthermore, the role of learning is often overlooked when measuring RI, despite its potential importance to understanding group differences. We investigated the effect of early-life group size, a key determinant of social complexity, on RI in Japanese quails ( Coturnix japonica ), whilst taking the role of learning into account. Quails (n = 120) were raised in either small groups of five or large groups of 15 individuals. RI was assessed using the cylinder task. Up to 10 trials were administered to assess whether the birds’ responses changed with increasing experience of the task. Among the quails that completed 10 trials, we found that those raised in large groups consistently spent less time pecking the cylinder than those raised in small groups. The quails’ responses were also influenced by their body condition, food motivation, and sex. Importantly, the quails learned to inhibit their responses - successful trials increased, and time spent pecking the cylinder decreased, across 10 trials. However, learning rates did not differ between the treatment groups. These findings suggest that early-life social group size promotes the development of RI in quails, but not their learning during the cylinder task.

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No Role for Outcomes in Definitions of Impulsive Actions

Current Addiction Reports

Purpose of Review This paper aims to revisit and critically analyse the definitions of impulsive actions, challenging the traditional focus on negative outcomes and dysfunctionality. By shifting the discussion away from an exclusive association with dysfunctionality, it advocates for a more nuanced examination of rapid actions undertaken with minimal forethought, potentially uncovering overlooked adaptive qualities and situational benefits. Recent Findings Empirical evidence and formal models challenge the notion that impulsive actions are inherently maladaptive. Instead, these studies suggest that the context and environment play crucial roles in determining whether such actions are or not adaptive. Summary This paper proposes a new perspective on impulsive actions. Impulsive actions are rapid because not all available evidence is considered, but this does not necessarily result in negative outcomes. Future research should focus on developing modified impulsivity measures that reflect this viewpoint. Such measures could provide deeper insights into the nuances of psychopathological symptoms and disordered behaviours.


Perceptual judgements are resistant to the advisor's perceived level of trustworthiness: a deep fake approach

May 2024

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32 Reads

As we navigate our environment, we often make spontaneous judgments about others. Trustworthiness is a key characteristic that we judge instantly and then use when making decisions, especially when we are uncertain. While the effect of trustworthiness on social behaviour has been extensively investigated, it remains unclear how trustworthiness affects more ‘basic’ cognitive processes such as perceptual decision-making. The present study aims to fill this gap. In the first experiment (N = 100), we validated a new trustworthiness manipulation by using deep fake technology to create animated versions of perceptually trustworthy, untrustworthy, and neutral static computer-generated faces. In the second experiment (N = 199), the deep fake procedure was applied to a new set of trustworthy and untrustworthy faces that served as advisors during a perceptual decision-making task. Here participants had to indicate the direction of dots that were either moving coherently to the left or to the right (i.e., random dot motion task). Contrary to our predictions, participants did not follow the advice of the trustworthy advisors more often than the advice of the untrustworthy advisors. We did find that participants decided faster and were more confident when following the advice, but this was also not influenced by the trustworthiness of the advisors. We integrate our findings within theoretical frameworks of advice taking, domain specificity of facial trustworthiness, and task requirements.


Relationship between mean distance to the three nearest nests (post-natal) and the square rooted (a) movement activity (m) and (b) home range size (m²) of ultra-wideband-tagged lesser black-backed gull chicks. The grey bar represents the standard error around the prediction. See text for details.
Spatial representation of the social network of 68 lesser black-backed gull chicks fitted with ultra-wideband tags. The dots represent the average spatial location of each chick during the 3 days of tracking, and their colour is related to the degree of centrality. The thickness of the lines connecting the chicks represents the strength of the social associations. The fences demarcating the colony and the different plots are shown as grey lines.
Breeding density affects the movements of gull chicks, the size of their home ranges and their association with neighbours

May 2024

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53 Reads

R. Salas

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Colonies of ground-nesting species often have heterogeneous nest densities and their offspring experience different social conditions depending on the size and location of the breeding territory. For example, unintentional territory crossing by mobile chicks can trigger strong aggression from neighbouring adults, as observed in semi-precocial gulls. This would be expected to shape chicks’ movement tendencies, exploratory behaviour and propensity for social contact through aversive feedback learning or pre-natal maternal effects, as mothers may pre-adapt their offspring’s behaviour to the expected early life conditions. Therefore, we hypothesize that lesser black-backed gull chicks reared in denser areas of the breeding colony will move less, have smaller home ranges and have fewer social contacts with chicks from neighbouring nests. To test this, we first cross-fostered full clutches between and within high- and low-density parts of the colony, and then used ultra-wideband tags to track free-ranging chicks. In line with our predictions, we found that chicks reared in denser areas had a lower movement activity and smaller home ranges. However, these chicks still had more social contacts, although not necessarily with a higher number of unique individuals. Pre-natal breeding density had no significant effect on any of the parameters. We conclude that parental nest choice strongly affects the early social environment of their chicks, which can shape the development of their (social) phenotype, with potentially long-lasting consequences.


Cognitive Control of Choices and Actions

March 2024

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40 Reads

We review model-based neuroscience work on cognitive control of choices and actions. We consider both strategically deployed executive processes and more automatic influences, first in binary choice tasks and then in more complex tasks. These include “conflict” tasks, where automatic and executive control processes sometimes act in opposition; delay discounting tasks, which require self-control to obtain larger rewards; and tasks where routine actions are occasionally interrupted by cues requiring different action or the inhibition of action. For all of these tasks, dynamic cognitive models have been developed based on the idea of accumulating evidence. They have also been studied by traditional neuroscience methods, but direct links to the cognitive models have not always been made. We detail the way in which progress has been made with model-based neuroscience methods in some cases and in others highlight how this points the way towards opportunities for progress. We emphasise generative Bayesian estimation methods that are well suited to the complexities of model-based neuroscience and provide exercises with open-source code that allow readers to develop skills with models relevant to cognitive control.


PREPRINT_From-Pupil-to-Performance_DoekemeijerCabooter

March 2024

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7 Reads

Response inhibition is key to flexible behavior, and while its mechanistic process dynamics are increasingly better understood, there are indications for important neuromodulatory influences that are thus far mostly considered in animal and pharmaceutical work. Specifically, such work has indicated a tight link between response inhibition and norepinephrine (NE) levels in the brain. In the present work, we used pre-trial pupil measures as established proxies of tonic NE levels to investigate the link with response inhibition using the stop-signal task. We did so in two healthy student samples, one performing in a standard stop-signal task, and one in a variant in which half of the experiment, stop-signals were to be ignored. Our results showed that (1) (faster) GoRT was predicted by (larger) pretrial pupil measures, which was stronger in the stop context induced by the standard stop-signal task; (2) (lower) stopping success was predicted by (larger) pretrial pupil measures, which may be explained by a faster go response working against successful inhibition; (3) (shorter) stop-signal reaction times (SSRT) were also associated with (larger) pretrial pupil measures, but somewhat less consistently. Taken together, our findings show a clear pattern that pre-trial pupil measures predict response speed on go trials, in particular in a stopping context, and a slightly less clear relationship with measures of response inhibition. Our results therefore support a link between fluctuating tonic NE levels and the process dynamics in response inhibition, but in a fashion that is less exclusive to core inhibition processes than might have been expected.


Differential effects of prior outcomes and pauses on the speed and quality of risky choices

February 2024

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40 Reads

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1 Citation

Journal of Behavioral Decision Making

Failures to obtain rewards influence what people choose to do next and how quickly they execute a chosen action, which are two components of motivated behavior. For instance, in risky decisions, losses can induce faster responses and sometimes increase risk‐taking, which may lead to detrimental consequences in some situations (such as gambling). Pauses might reduce these motivational influences of prior outcomes. To examine this question, participants alternated between a guess game, in which they won or lost money, and a choice game, in which they chose between a high probability of winning a small amount of money and a low probability of winning a large amount of money. The pause between a guess and a choice game was made either short (0 or 300 ms) or long (3000 ms). In four experiments, prior outcomes consistently influenced decision speed, such that people chose faster after a loss than after a win. However, prior outcomes did not consistently influence people's choices. In contrast, pauses increased decision quality, such that participants chose the option with a higher expected value more often, without substantially reducing decision speed. Pauses may improve decision quality by influencing predecisional attention allocation to relevant information, as its effect was absent when the overall task attention was high (Experiment 3). These findings have implications for both safer gambling and risky decision research. Future work can examine the underlying computational and cognitive processes and the generalizability of these findings to other contexts and populations.


Figure 1: Predicted correlations between different measures of stopping (top row and first 232 column; see main text for description) based on the overlap between task components (i.e. 233 type of stop stimulus, orange; relative timing of go and stop stimuli, blue; type of action that 234 has to be stopped, purple). + indicates we predicted a correlation; (0) indicates we predicted no 235 correlation. Note that for the detour barrier task, we could not always make a priori predictions 236 (indicated by ?) as the initial stop stimulus in this task is unclear (see the description of the 237 detour barrier task for further details); but once they pecked at the barrier, the stop stimuli in 238 the detour barrier task would be similar to the stop stimuli in the thwarting task (i.e. a 239 transparent object or the failure to obtain a reward). Measures of 'going' were not included in 240 this figure, but correlations among these across tasks were predicted. We did not make any 241 predictions about correlations between 'going' and 'stopping' measures. 242 243
Figure 2: Enclosure with feeding station with opaque barriers in the foreground, and three sets 321 of transparent barriers in the background. Note: not pictured here, but opaque barriers also 322 had coloured tape around their edges, in a similar way to the transparent barriers. 323 324
Beyond a unitary construct: Dissecting stopping behaviour in two bird species

January 2024

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73 Reads

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2 Citations

The ability to stop behaviour is essential for adapting to changes in the environment, a principle that holds true across various species. While traditionally considered a unitary psychological construct, recent studies indicate that this ability is multifaceted. Our research evaluates this multifaceted nature using three tasks that measure stopping in different contexts in two related gull species: herring gulls (Larus argentatus) and lesser black-backed gulls (L. fuscus). These species were selected for their distinct migration and foraging strategies, offering a unique lens through which to examine behavioural adaptations. Across tasks and species, we conceptualised stopping as a race between a go and a stop runner, and predicted correlations based on the type of stop stimulus, the relative timing of the go and the stop stimuli, and the type of action that needed to be stopped. We found correlations between measures of "going" across tasks, but there was less consistency in measures of "stopping". Furthermore, we observed significant differences in "going" and "stopping" behaviours that were specific to each species, which may be linked to their migration and foraging strategies. These findings highlight the importance of considering the multifaceted nature of stopping in evolutionary and behavioural studies.


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Citations (63)


... In action-effect acquisition paradigms, participants learn systematic action-effect associations in a learning phase, e.g., a left key press is always followed by high pitch tone, a right key press by a low pitch tone. Once this association is learned, participants are faster to respond to a high pitch tone with a left key To this end, we developed a novel two-step joint goal setting paradigm (inspired by Krishna & Götz, 2024;van der Wel, 2015; see also Van der Biest et al., 2024): The participant and the co-actor (a confederate) move a target relay-like from the bottom center to the top left or right corner of the computer screen in two steps. In the first step, the participant moves the target halfway to either corner via one keypress. ...

Reference:

How a Co-Actor's (Un-)Reliability Modulates Goal Selection in a Novel Joint Goal-Setting Paradigm
Instructing somebody else to act: motor co-representations in the instructor

... Recent research [66][67][68] has highlighted the severe implications of these violations, questioning the reliability of SSRT as a definitive measure of inhibitory control 66,69 , although recent approaches have proposed model-based solutions to overcome some of these issues 70,71 . The reliability and validity of inferred SSRT measures become more questionable in the presence of specific behavioral patterns that confound SSRT measurement 69,72,73 , potentially leading to systematic bias in conventional measures of SSRT and inhibitory control. This critique underscores a critical gap in the current understanding and measurement of inhibitory mechanisms, pointing to the need for more quantitively precise models that can account for the complex dynamics of cognitive processes. ...

Proactively Adjusting Stopping: Response Inhibition is Faster when Stopping Occurs Frequently

Journal of Cognition

... However, losing against an, in principle, exploitable opponent induced slowing in subsequent responses as observed for commission errors (Dyson et al., 2018). These findings are in line with a recent study that directly compared commission errors, for which rules were known and applicable, with different types of guesses (Eben et al., 2023). For guesses, participants had to categorize the color of a stimulus as light or dark gray when in fact, the stimulus always had the same shade of gray. ...

When Response Selection Becomes Gambling: Post-error Slowing and Speeding in Self-paced Colour Discrimination Tasks

Collabra Psychology

... The development of paradigm measures of urgency is in its infancy and has had mixed success (36,37); there are no validated fMRI tasks for NU in SSD. Here, we used an emotion regulation task in which participants performed implicit reappraisal of affective pictures based on spoken sentences that preceded those images (38,39). ...

Modeling urgency in the lab: Exploring the associations between self-reported urgency and behavioral responses to negative outcomes in laboratory gambling

Acta Psychologica

... Big Team Science projects are often led by researchers from Anglo-Saxon and Global North institutions, while the contributions of researchers from the Global South are oftentimes diluted in the ordering of authors-i.e., authors from Global North tend to occupy positions of prestige such as the first, corresponding, and last author (e.g., refs. 146,147,[156][157][158][159][160][161][162] ) while researchers from Lowand Middle-income countries are compressed in the middle. Moreover, there are also challenges associated with collecting data in low-and-middle-income countries that are often not accounted for, such as limited access to polling infrastructure or technology and the gaping inequities in resources, funding, and educational opportunities. ...

The Psychological Science Accelerator's COVID-19 Rapid-Response Dataset

Scientific Data

... However, control is not exclusively an objective feature of an experimental paradigm. In particular, the subjective sense of control may be equally important in determining behaviour (Eben et al., 2022a(Eben et al., , 2022b. In Eben et al. (2023), Experiment 3), participants performed variations of a color discrimination task. ...

Outcome sequences and illusion of control – part II: the effect on post-loss speeding
  • Citing Article
  • November 2023

International Gambling Studies

... In addition to the preregistered model, we explored the effects of outcome sequence on loss-chasing because variations in the outcome sequence may shape risk-taking tendencies via the illusion of control (Eben et al. 2023;Langer and Roth 1975). The interaction of outcome sequence * condition and outcome sequence * gambling group did not affect loss-chasing significantly. ...

Outcome sequences and illusion of control - Part I: An online replication of Langer & Roth (1975)
  • Citing Article
  • November 2023

International Gambling Studies

... On the one hand, lower movement activity would reduce the likelihood of crossing territorial boundaries, and as such, reduce the probability of an aggressive encounter. Consistent with this idea, we have recently shown that gull chicks reared at high breeding densities in a colony exhibit less exploratory activity in novel environments [32]. Furthermore, the early-life social environment may affect resilience to (social) stress [33] or anxiety, with the latter again facilitating avoidance of aggressive interactions [33,34] (but see [32]). ...

Growing up in a crowd: social environment shapes the offspring's early exploratory phenotype in a colonial breeding species

... Theory and empirical evidence seem to suggest that framing messages positively (instead of negatively) is better for encouraging healthy behaviors, as they persuade people to lower sugar intake [18] or to engage in preventive health behaviors [19,20]. In the COVID-19 pandemic context, gains-framed health messages are believed to have been more effective at increasing self-care behaviors and motivating them in others [21], while lossframings have been shown to increase anxiety without any changes in behavior [22]. For example, framing side effects information positively instead of negatively increased vaccine intention in Australia [23]. ...

In COVID-19 Health Messaging, Loss Framing Increases Anxiety with Little-to-No Concomitant Benefits: Experimental Evidence from 84 Countries

Affective Science

... First, responsible gambling programming and public health messaging can be targeted at individuals who fluctuate considerably in their amount wagered and net loss, or who either wager or experience losses at consistently high levels. These individuals might be: (1) exhibiting unsustainable gambling involvement, (2) taking steps to reduce their gambling due to lack of control (Hing et al., 2015), and/or (3) increasing their gambling to chase losses (Banerjee et al., 2023;Edson et al., 2023;Zhang & Clark, 2020), chase wins (Chen et al., 2022), or to experience the same level of arousal as they previously experienced (i.e., tolerance; Blaszczynski et al., 2008;Lee et al., 2020). People with consistently high levels of involvement might also benefit from responsible gambling and public health messaging (Gainsbury et al., 2018;Newall et al., 2023), which might help them to moderate their gambling behavior. ...

Winning and losing in online gambling: Effects on within-session chasing