What the study found
Voluntary engagement of maximal mental effort was associated with a greater preference for correct performance. The study did not find a consistent group effect for changing the habitual bias toward word reading over color naming.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors conclude that the voluntary investment of cognitive effort appears to be driven mainly by increased motivation for accuracy rather than by directly inhibiting habitual response tendencies. They also suggest this computational approach may be relevant in clinical settings where intentional effort allocation is impaired in psychiatric and neurological disorders.
What the researchers tested
The researchers studied twenty healthy young adults performing the Stroop task, a test where people name the font color of a color word while suppressing the automatic tendency to read the word. Participants completed the task under two conditions: with maximum exertion or as relaxed as possible. Their behavior was modeled with a two-layer generative model based on active inference, a computational framework for explaining action and decision-making, to estimate habitual bias and motivation for correct performance.
What worked and what didn't
The model estimated two latent parameters: habitual bias toward word reading over color naming, and motivation to perform the task correctly. Voluntary maximal effort was associated with increased preference for correct performance. The relationship with habitual word-reading bias did not show a consistent group effect.
What to keep in mind
The study involved only twenty healthy young adults, so the findings are limited to that sample. The abstract does not describe additional limitations beyond the scope of the participants and task used.
Key points
- Voluntary maximal effort was linked to a higher preference for correct performance.
- The study did not find a consistent group effect for habitual word-reading bias.
- The task was the Stroop task, which requires naming ink color while suppressing word reading.
- Researchers modeled behavior with a two-layer active inference model.
- The abstract suggests possible relevance for clinical settings involving impaired intentional effort allocation.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- Maximal effort linked to greater preference for correct performance
- Authors:
- Riccardo Maramotti, Thomas Parr, Manuela Tondelli, Daniela Ballotta, Sanjay Manohar, Giovanna Zamboni, Giuseppe Pagnoni
- Institutions:
- University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, University of Ferrara, University of Oxford, National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment
- Publication date:
- 2026-03-16
- OpenAlex record:
- View
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