Mental fatigue and the control of cognitive processes: Effects on perseveration and planning

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

We tested whether behavioural manifestations of mental fatigue may be linked to compromised executive control, which refers to the ability to regulate perceptual and motor processes for goal-directed behaviour. In complex tasks, compromised executive control may become manifest as decreased flexibility and sub-optimal planning. In the study we use the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and the Tower of London (TOL), which respectively measure flexibility (e.g., perseverative errors) and planning. A simple memory task was used as a control measure. Fatigue was induced through working for 2 h on cognitively demanding tasks. The results showed that compared to a non-fatigued group, fatigued participants displayed more perseveration on the WCST and showed prolonged planning time on the TOL. Fatigue did not affect performance on the simple memory task. These findings indicate compromised executive control under fatigue, which may explain the typical errors and sub-optimal performance that are often found in fatigued people.

Original languageEnglish
JournalActa Psychologica
Volume113
Issue number1
Pages (from-to)45-65
Number of pages21
ISSN0001-6918
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01.05.2003
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

This study was supported by a grant from The Netherlands Concerted Research action “Fatigue at Work” of The Netherlands Organization of Scientific Research (NWO). Furthermore, we would like to thank Riek Somsen of the University of Amsterdam for the discussion on performance measures in the WCST and for giving us the computerized version of the WCST. We would also like to thank Michiel Kompier, Toon Taris, and two anonymous reviewers for useful comments on earlier versions of this manuscript.

    Research areas

  • Cognitive flexibility, Executive control, Mental fatique, Planning
  • Business psychology

Recently viewed

Publications

  1. Medienpädagogik unter der differenztheoretischen Lupe
  2. Machine Learning and Data Mining for Sports Analytics
  3. Literarische Sozialisation in den Zeiten des Internet
  4. Innovationskultur als Treiber des Unternehmenserfolgs
  5. 'From the tobacco road of Cuba' - Alula Records ALU 1011
  6. Einführung in Grundlagen der theoretischen Informatik
  7. Der Titelrekognitionstest für das Vorschulalter (TRT-VS)
  8. Das Konsultationspapier der EU-Kommission vom 12.11.2021
  9. Das Dorf als Konfliktfeld im Streit um Agro-Gentechnik
  10. Conjectural variations equilibrium in a mixed duopoly
  11. Beschwerde, Ombudschaft und die Kinder- und Jugendhilfe
  12. "20 years health promotion research in and on settings"
  13. Utopie, Physiologie und Technologie des Fernsprechens
  14. The Lumpiness of German Exports and Imports of Goods
  15. The economics of biodiversity and ecosystem services
  16. Teachers as change agents of sustainable development!?
  17. "Nur auf den ersten Blick ein ganz normaler Stadtpark"
  18. Long-run economic determinants of asylum applications
  19. Kontrolle und Komplexität in der Computertechnologie
  20. Komplexität und asymmetrische Informationsverteilung
  21. Frauenberufstätigkeit im Sozial- und Gesundheitswesen
  22. Family firm identity and capital structure decisions
  23. Facilitating age diversity in organizations – Part II
  24. Die Praxis des gleitenden Übergangs in den Ruhestand
  25. Die Fotobefragung als projektives Erhebungsverfahren
  26. Der Schutz vor Benachteiligung im Zivilrechtsverkehr
  27. Culture Check: Kulturwissenschaftliche Marktforschung
  28. Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung zum Thema „Wasser“
  29. Weibliche Größenphantasien in Rezeptionsprozessen.
  30. Transkulturelle Hochschule mit Gender und Diversity!?
  31. Trade-offs between justices, economics, and efficiency
  32. The Weinberg-Salam Model of Electroweak Interactions
  33. Testing for Economies of Scope in European Railways
  34. Symbole unserer Zeit und ihre formierenden Elemente
  35. Resonanz erfahren – mit der Welt in Beziehung stehen
  36. Readings in Twenty-First-Century European literatures
  37. Quantum Computing and the Analog/Digital Distinction
  38. On the Importance of a Motivational Agency Variable
  39. Music consumption at the dawn of the music industry
  40. Mental representation of global environmental risks
  41. Management Consulting Firms as Institutional Agents
  42. Land-use legacy and tree age in continuous woodlands
  43. How do family entrepreneurs recognize opportunities?
  44. Genealogia e critica della soggettività neoliberale
  45. Fragmentierung der Familie durch Medientechnologien?
  46. Feministische Kommunikations- und Medienwissenschaft
  47. Facilitating age diversity in organizations – Part I