Monitoring attention deployment by random number generation: An index to measure subjective randomness

Evans, Frederick J.

doi:10.3758/bf03329617

Cited by 175 publications

(134 citation statements)

References 9 publications

(7 reference statements)

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“…There was also a main ef- Table 4 Index of Degree of Redundancy (Evans, 1978) Secondary task performance. Next, we analyzed the secondary task performance, following the procedure for analysis used with the data from Experiment 1.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For this comparison, we used the Evans RNG index (Evans, 1978). This index strictly measures the amount of redundancy in the response, so that a higher index indicates more redundancy and less randomness.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is a task that requires subjects to keep track of the number of times each item has been generated and to inhibit well-known sequences such as "ABCD" or "3456." These are cognitive demands that would indeed appear to rely on planning and control functions (Evans, 1978;Treisman & Faulkner, 1987). It has been shown to disrupt performance in syllogistic reasoning tasks (Gilhooly et aI., 1993) and in complex dynamic tasks that place heavy demands on cognitive resources (Fabiani et aI., 1989;Logie & Salway, 1990;Salway, 1991).…”

Section: Working Memorymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Working Memorymentioning

confidence: 99%

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“…We predicted that patients would show a lower TPI than control participants because of more pronounced perseverative tendencies leading to longer ascending and descending sequences. Finally, as a global measure of randomness, Evans' random number generation index (Evans, 1978; RNG index) was calculated. As a general redundancy measure, this index is among the most frequently used measures of nonrandomness in the literature on RNG.…”

Section: Rng Task Performance Measures and Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Random number generation deficits in patients with multiple sclerosis: Characteristics and neural correlates

Geisseler

Pflugshaupt

Buchmann

et al. 2016

Cortex

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Human subjects typically deviate systematically from randomness when attempting to produce a sequence of random numbers. Despite an increasing number of behavioral and functional neuroimaging studies on random number generation (RNG), its structural correlates have never been investigated. We set out to fill this gap in 44 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), a disease whose impact on RNG has never been studied. The RNG task required the paced (1 Hz) generation of the numbers from 1 to 6 in a sequence as random as possible. The same task was administered in 39 matched healthy controls. To assess neuroanatomical correlates such as cortical thickness, lesion load and third ventricle width, all subjects underwent high-resolution structural MRI. Compared to controls, MS patients exhibited an enhanced tendency to arrange consecutive numbers in an ascending order ("forward counting"). Furthermore, patients showed a higher susceptibility to rule breaks (producing out-of-category digits like 7) and to skip beats of the metronome. Clinico-anatomical correlation analyses revealed two main findings: First, increased counting in MS patients was associated with higher cortical lesion load. Second, increased number of skipped beats was related to widespread cortical thinning. In conclusion, our test results illustrate a loss of behavioral complexity in the course of MS, while the imaging results suggest an association between this loss and cortical pathology. AbstractHuman subjects typically deviate systematically from randomness when attempting to produce a sequence of random numbers. Despite an increasing number of behavioral and functional neuroimaging studies on random number generation (RNG), its structural correlates have never been investigated. We set out to fill this gap in 44 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), a disease whose impact on RNG has never been studied. The RNG task required the paced (1 Hz) generation of the numbers from 1 to 6 in a sequence as random as possible. The same task was administered in 39 matched healthy controls. To assess neuroanatomical correlates such as cortical thickness, lesion load and third ventricle width, all subjects underwent high-resolution structural MRI. Compared to controls, MS patients exhibited an enhanced tendency to arrange consecutive numbers in an ascending order ("forward counting"). Furthermore, patients showed a higher susceptibility to rule breaks (producing out-of-category digits like 7) and to skip beats of the metronome. Clinicoanatomical correlation analyses revealed two main findings: First, increased counting in MS patients was associated with higher cortical lesion load. Second, increased number of skipped beats was related to widespread cortical thinning. In conclusion, our test results illustrate a loss of behavioral complexity in the course of multiple sclerosis, while the imaging results suggest an association between this loss and cortical pathology. KeywordsRandom number generation; mental dice task; multiple sclerosis, neural correlates

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“…This is a task that is typically associated with executive functions, and in particular thought to be demanding of attention (Baddeley, 1966;Evans, 1978). To investigate the consistency of task requirements in EVET compared with the earlier task, we conducted a further study using the same executive secondary task as was used by Law et al (2006), using the present good and poor plan manipulation to examine its effect on on-line plan adjustment.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of working memory load on task execution and online plan adjustment during multitasking in a virtual environment

Law

Trawley

Brown

et al. 2013

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology

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Three experiments investigated the impact of working memory load on on-line plan adjustment during a test of multitasking in young, non-expert, adult participants. Multitasking was assessed using the Edinburgh Virtual Errands Test (EVET -Logie, . Participants were asked to memorise either good or poor plans for performing multiple errands, and were assessed both on task completion and the extent to which they modified their plans during EVET performance. EVET was performed twice, with and without a secondary task loading a component of working memory. In Experiment 1 articulatory suppression was used to load the phonological loop.In Experiment 2, oral random generation was used to load executive functions. In Experiment 3, spatial working memory was loaded with an auditory spatial localisation task. EVET performance for both good and poor planning groups was disrupted by random generation and sound localisation, but not by articulatory suppression. Additionally, people given a poor plan were able to overcome this initial disadvantage by modifying their plans on-line. It was concluded that, in addition to executive functions, multiple errands performance draws heavily on spatial, but not verbal, working memory resources but can be successfully completed on the basis of modifying plans on-line, despite a secondary task load.3 Acknowledgements

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Monitoring attention deployment by random number generation: An index to measure subjective randomness

Cited by 175 publications

References 9 publications

Counting on working memory in arithmetic problem solving

Counting on working memory in arithmetic problem solving

Random number generation deficits in patients with multiple sclerosis: Characteristics and neural correlates

The impact of working memory load on task execution and online plan adjustment during multitasking in a virtual environment

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