ORCID
- Andrea Pisauro: 0000-0001-6087-2597
Abstract
Deadlines fundamentally shape the motivation for effort. Research examining effort-based choices findshigh effort is an avoided cost. However, this work overlooks the fact that effort can be valuable when itmakes progress on long-term goals before deadlines. We test a new framework where motivationdepends on deadline pressure (work remaining / time remaining). Across three studies we usecomputational modelling on novel tasks examining effort-based decisions when effort makes progresson goals with deadlines. In support of hypotheses, deadline pressure significantly impacts decisionmaking, shifting people from avoiding effort, to seeking and valuing it. Using ultra-high-field fMRI, weshow that functionally connected putamen and midcingulate cortex (MCC) sub-regions process andupdate estimates of deadline pressure, with distinct anterior cingulate and putamen sub-regionsprocessing the costs or added value of effort. We show the neurocomputational mechanisms for howdeadline pressure shapes motivation, and that keep us ‘on track’ for our goals.
DOI Link
DOI
10.1101/2024.04.17.589910
Publication Date
2024-04-21
Recommended Citation
Pisauro, A., Pollicino, D., Fisher, L., & Apps, M. (2024) 'Neural and computational mechanisms of effort under the pressure of a deadline', Available at: 10.1101/2024.04.17.589910
