Dr. Robert Wirth

Organizational

time	occupation
since 11/2020	academic council
09/2017 - 10/2020	post doc
04/2014 - 09/2017	PhD student
04/2014 - 04/2020	guest lecturer at the Uni Bayreuth
since 12/2012	researcher at the JMU Würzburg
02/2010 - 08/2012	student assistant
04/2009 - 08/2012	study of psychology

network and device administration Röntgenring 11
SONA admin for the Cognitive Psychology division
lab and student assistent management
organization of the experimental practicals of the Psychological Department
making sure every team member conducts their Windows Updates by vehemently threatening to take away their internet access in case of non-compliance

Research

project title	year	funded by
Affective evaluation of self- produced action-effect episodes	2024-2027	DFG WI 6025/2-1
Stimulus-response modality compatibility	2020	GSLS Uni Würzburg
Localizing modality compatibility effects in human information processing	2020-2021	HDC Uni Würzburg
Ergonomic comparison between different types of expectancy in multitasking	2016	DFG SPP 1772
The interplay between effect monitoring and performance monitoring	2016	DFG SPP 1772
Validation of finger tracking methods of iPads	2015	Unibund Würzburg

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2024[ to top ]

Pfister, R., Tonn, S., Schaaf, M., & Wirth, R. (2024). mousetRajectory: Mouse tracking analyses for behavioral scientists. The Quantitative Methods for Psychology, 20(3), 217-228. https://doi.org/10.20982/tqmp.20.3.p217
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Mouse tracking and the recording of movement trajectories have become powerful tools to investigate cognitive processes. Dedicated analysis software for this type of data is now readily available to empirical researchers, promising a substantial simplification of the required data pro- cessing tasks. However, existing solutions are designed for specific recording software or analysis workflows, thus lacking the flexibility to adapt analyses to individual needs. The R package mouse- tRajectory addresses this gap. By placing strong emphasis on code clarity and modularity, it facil- itates customization for researchers, especially those favoring a modern tidyverse programming style. Here, we provide concise example analyses that explain the essential preprocessing tools, such as time normalization or resampling, and key functions for computing trajectory markers. These markers include classic spatial metrics such as area under the curve and maximum absolute deviation along with more advanced measures such as sample entropy. In summary, mousetRa- jectory offers a toolkit for researchers seeking a lightweight and easily adaptable foundation for custom analyses of 2D movement trajectory data.

2023[ to top ]

Wirth, R., Tonn, S., Schaaf, M., Koch, I., & Kunde, W. (2023). Sequential adaptation to modality incompatibility. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 49(10), 1360–1376. https://doi.org/10.1037/xhp0001149
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Modality-compatible stimulus–response mappings (e.g., responding vocally to an auditory stimulus and manually to a visual stimulus) are often easier to perform than modality-incompatible sets (reversed modality mappings). Here, we investigate sequential, trial-to-trial, modulations of modality compatibility effects. By reanalyzing a previous experiment and conducting two specifically tailored, new experiments, we demonstrate robust within-task sequential modulations. Furthermore, we test for between-task adaptations by intermixing the modality switching task with a Simon task. Results show reliable sequential adaptations within the modality switching task, but no transfer of adaptation between tasks in either direction. We discuss how a combination of prominent theoretical accounts such as conflict adaptation and episodic binding can serve as the cognitive underpinnings of the observed sequential adaptations.
Wirth, R., Kunde, W., & Pfister, R. (2023). Following affirmative and negated rules. Cognitive Science, 47(11), e13378. https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.13378
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Rules are often stated in a negated manner (“no trespassing”) rather than in an affirmative manner (“stay in your lane”). Here, we build on classic research on negation processing and, using a finger-tracking design on a touchscreen, we show that following negated rather than affirmative rules is harder as indicated by multiple performance measures. Moreover, our results indicate that practice has a surprisingly limited effect on negated rules, which are implemented more quickly with training, but this effect comes at the expense of reduced efficiency. Only affirmative rules are thus put into action efficiently, highlighting the importance of tailoring how rules are communicated to the peculiarities of the human mind.
Foerster, A., Pfister, R., Wirth, R., & Kunde, W. (2023). Post-execution monitoring in dishonesty. Psychological Research, 87(3), 845-861. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-022-01691-x
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When telling a lie, humans might engage in stronger monitoring of their behavior than when telling the truth. Initial evidence has indeed pointed towards a stronger recruitment of capacity-limited monitoring processes in dishonest than honest responding, conceivably resulting from the necessity to overcome automatic tendencies to respond honestly. Previous results suggested monitoring to be confined to response execution, however, whereas the current study goes beyond these findings by specifically probing for post-execution monitoring. Participants responded (dis)honestly to simple yes/no questions in a first task and switched to an unrelated second task after a response--stimulus interval of 0 ms or 1000 ms. Dishonest responses did not only prolong response times in Task 1, but also in Task 2 with a short response--stimulus interval. These findings support the assumption that increased monitoring for dishonest responses extends beyond mere response execution, a mechanism that is possibly tuned to assess the successful completion of a dishonest act.
Schroeder, P. A., Mayer, K., Wirth, R., & Svaldi, J. (2023). Playing with temptation: Stopping abilities to chocolate are superior, but also more extensive. Appetite, 181, 106383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2022.106383
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Cue-specific inhibitory control is assumed to support balanced food intake, but previous studies with established measures showed inconsistent results. We developed a novel kinematic stop task in virtual reality (VR) and report results from trajectory recordings. The primary objective of this explorative study was to assess the interrelationships between validated measures of food-related inhibitory control and novel measures from the VR task. We hypothesized that healthy female participants show worse inhibitory control when grasping attractive virtual chocolate, compared to non-edible color-and-shape matched objects. We further aimed to quantify the construct validity of kinematic measures (e.g., reaching extent/spatial displacement, movement time after stop-signal, velocity) with established measures of inhibitory control in a keyboard-based adaptive stop-signal task (SST). In total, 79 females with varying levels of chocolate craving participated in an experimental study consisting of self-report questionnaires, subjective chocolate craving, the conventional SST and the kinematic task in VR. Results showed superior stopping ability to chocolate in both tasks. In VR, participants successfully interrupted an initiated approach trajectory but terminated slightly closer to chocolate targets. Stop-signal delay (SSD) was adapted relative to movement onset and appeared later in chocolate trials, during which participants still stopped faster, as was also confirmed by shorter stop-signal reaction time (SSRT) in the conventional task. Yet, SSRT did not correlate with stopping in VR. Moreover, SSRT was related to depressive symptoms whereas measures from VR were related to chocolate craving and subjective hunger. Thus, VR stopping can provide deeper insights into healthy weight individuals’ capacity to inhibit cue-specific approach behavior towards appetitive stimuli in simulated interactions. Furthermore, the results support a multi-faceted view of food-specific inhibitory control and behavioral impulsivity.
Schaaf, M., Wirth, R., & Kunde, W. (2023). Time expectancies in dual tasking: Evidence for proactive resource sharing?. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 49(8), 1123-1131. https://doi.org/10.1037/xhp0001141
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The present study explored whether dual-task performance is affected by deviations from the expected time point of a secondary task. In two psychological refractory period experiments, participants responded to two tasks, separated by either a short or long delay. In contrast to traditional dual-tasking studies, however, the identity of Task 1 probabilistically predicted the delay after which Task 2 would occur. Violations of these expectations impaired performance in both Task 2 and Task 1. For Task 2, this effect was more pronounced when Task 2 occurred unexpectedly early, while for Task 1, it was more pronounced when Task 2 occurred unexpectedly late. The results are consistent with the notion that processing resources can be shared, and that even in the absence of Task 2, some resources are withheld from Task 1, based on early available Task 1 features.
Ellinghaus, R., Janczyk, M., Wirth, R., Kunde, W., Fischer, R., & Liepelt, R. (2023). Opposing influences of global and local stimulus-hand proximity on crosstalk interference in dual tasks. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 76(11), 2461-2478. https://doi.org/10.1177/17470218231157548
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In contrast to traditional dualistic views of cognition, visual stimulus processing appears not independent of bodily factors such as hand positioning. For example, reduced crosstalk between two temporally overlapping tasks has been observed when the hands are moved into the attentional window alongside their respective stimuli (i.e., establishing global stimulus-hand proximity). This result indicates that hand-specific attentional processing enhancements support a more serial rather than parallel processing of the two tasks. To further elucidate the nature of these processing modulations and their effect on multitasking performance, the present study consisted of three interrelated crosstalk experiments. Experiment 1 manipulated global stimulus-hand proximity and stimulus-effect proximity orthogonally, with results demonstrating that hand proximity rather than effect proximity drives the crosstalk reduction. Experiment 2 manipulated the physical distance between both hands (i.e., varying local stimulus-hand proximity), with results showing weak evidence of increased crosstalk when both hands are close to each other. Experiment 3 tested opposing influences of global and local stimulus-hand proximity as observed in Experiment 1 and 2 rigorously within one experiment, by employing an orthogonal manipulation of these two proximity measures. Again, we observed slightly increased crosstalk for hands close to each other (replicating Experiment 2); however, in contrast to Experiment 1, the effect of global stimulus-hand proximity on the observed crosstalk was not significant this time. Taken together, the experiments support the notion of hand-specific modulations of perception-action coupling, which can either lead to more or less interference in multitasking, depending on the exact arrangement of hands and stimuli.

2022[ to top ]

Muth, F. V., Wirth, R., & Kunde, W. (2022). Temporal Binding in Multi-Step Action-Event Sequences is Driven by Altered Effect Perception. Consciousness and Cognition, 99, 103299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2022.103299
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The perceived compression of the interval between a voluntary action and a subsequent consequence is termed temporal binding and serves as an implicit measure for sense of agency. In everyday life, oftentimes multiple actions are required for goal attainment, i.e., a multi-step sequence of actions has to be performed to evoke the desired effect. However, present-day research mainly assesses the sense of agency for single actions and effects. Preliminary research on the sense of agency in longer action-event sequences is inconclusive. To fill this gap, we studied temporal binding in multi-step action-event sequences. In two experiments (free and forced choice), we employed a temporal binding paradigm in which participants had to press two keys to evoke the corresponding effects. Overall compression of the interval between actions and effects was driven by strong effect binding for both effects, while there was no significant action binding in either of the experiments.
Schaaf, M., Kunde, W., & Wirth, R. (2022). Monitoring goal-irrelevant effects interferes with concurrent tasks. Acta Psychologica, 224, 103522. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103522
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Our actions cause manifold environmental changes. Monitoring these action effects serves at least two vital functions: While the validation of currently relevant effects assesses goal-achievement, screening for currently irrelevant effects accumulates knowledge about potential action-effect relationships. However, monitoring the perceptual consequences of our actions presumably impairs performance in concurrent tasks. Here, we investigated how effect relevance modulates monitoring costs by manipulating instructions in three dual-task experiments. We found performance decreases not only after validation of goal-relevant action effects but to a smaller extent also after screening of goal-irrelevant action effects. These results suggest that effect monitoring is a rather fundamental limitation of dual tasking.
Schaaf, M., Kunde, W., & Wirth, R. (2022). Evidence for initially independent monitoring of responses and response effects. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 48(2), 128-138. https://doi.org/10.1037/xhp0000979
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To act successfully, agents must monitor whether their behavior reached predicted effects. As deviations from predicted effects can result from own behavior (response-errors) or from circumstantial unreliabil- ity (effect-errors), both the own efferent activities and the accomplished environmental outcomes must be monitored. In three experiments, we examined response monitoring and effect monitoring using a dual-task setup. Task 1 consisted of a three-choice flanker task and effects were displayed after the response. Crucially, in some of the trials, an incorrect effect was displayed after a correct response, whereas in other trials, a correct effect was displayed after an incorrect response. This disentangled response-errors and effect-errors. Task 2 was a simple discrimination task and served to measure the monitoring process. Task 2 responses slowed down after both response-errors and effect-errors in Task 1. These influences were additive, suggesting two independent monitoring processes: one for responses, capturing errors in efferent activities, and one for response effects, checking for environment-related irregularities.

2020[ to top ]

Muth, F. V., Wirth, R., & Kunde, W. (2020). Temporal binding past the Libet clock: testing design factors for an auditory timer. Behavior Research Methods, 53(3), 1322–1341. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-020-01474-5
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Voluntary actions and causally linked sensory stimuli are perceived to be shifted towards each other in time. This so-called temporal binding is commonly assessed in paradigms using the Libet Clock. In such experiments, participants have to estimate the timing of actions performed or ensuing sensory stimuli (usually tones) by means of a rotating clock hand presented on a screen. The aforementioned task setup is however ill-suited for many conceivable setups, especially when they involve visual effects. To address this shortcoming, the line of research presented here establishes an alternative measure for temporal binding by using a sequence of timed sounds. This method uses an auditory timer, a sequence of letters presented during task execution, which serve as anchors for temporal judgments. In four experiments, we manipulated four design factors of this auditory timer, namely interval length, interval filling, sequence predictability, and sequence length, to determine the most effective and economic method for measuring temporal binding with an auditory timer.
Wirth, R., Foerster, A., Kunde, W., & Pfister, R. (2020). Design choices: Empirical recommendations for designing two-dimensional finger-tracking experiments. Behavior Research Methods, 52, 2394-2416. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-020-01409-0
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The continuous tracking of mouse or finger movements has become an increasingly popular research method for investigating cognitive and motivational processes such as decision-making, action-planning, and executive functions. In the present paper, we evaluate and discuss how apparently trivial design choices of researchers may impact participants’ behavior and, consequently, a study’s results. We first provide a thorough comparison of mouse- and finger-tracking setups on the basis of a Simon task. We then vary a comprehensive set of design factors, including spatial layout, movement extent, time of stimulus onset, size of the target areas, and hit detection in a finger-tracking variant of this task. We explore the impact of these variations on a broad spectrum of movement parameters that are typically used to describe movement trajectories. Based on our findings, we suggest several recommendations for best practice that avoid some of the pitfalls of the methodology. Keeping these recommendations in mind will allow for informed decisions when planning and conducting future tracking experiments.
Wirth, R., & Kunde, W. (2020). Feature~binding contributions to effect monitoring. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 82(6), 3144-3157. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-020-02036-9
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Monitoring the perceptual effects of body movements is supposed to be a capacity-limited process that can interfere with processing of a concurrent task. Here we studied the contribution of feature binding to such effect monitoring interference. In three experiments, we varied the possibility of feature overlap between responses and effects in a primary task and responses in a secondary task. We show that responses in a secondary task are delayed when they partially, rather than completely, alternate or repeat features of responses/effects of a primary task. Yet, these partial feature repetition/alternation costs are small, and they occur on top of other factors that lengthen the critical effect monitoring process, such as the spatial compatibility of responses and effects in the primary task. The results thus show that feature binding contributes to, but cannot fully account for, delays in a secondary task caused by monitoring effects of a primary task.
Wirth, R., Koch, I., & Kunde, W. (2020). Localizing modality compatibility effects: Evidence from dual-task interference. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 46(12), 1527-1537. https://doi.org/10.1037/xhp0000873
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Performance is typically superior with modality-compatible stimulus–response sets (e.g., responding vocally to auditory stimuli and manually to visual stimuli) than with modality-incompatible sets (e.g., responding vocally to visual stimuli and manually to auditory stimuli). Here we studied the information-processing stage at which these modality compatibility effects arise. In three experiments using a dual-task setup, we demonstrated that these compatibility effects arose (at least partly) prior to a capacity-limited central stage that is commonly believed to be the origin of dual-task costs. We suggest that demands to employ a specific effector system bias perceptual processing toward effector-compatible stimulus modalities.
Dignath, D., Wirth, R., Kühnhausen, J., Gawrilow, C., Kunde, W., & Kiesel, A. (2020). Motivation drives conflict adaptation. Motivation Science, 6(1), 84-89. https://doi.org/10.1037/mot0000136
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The notion that impaired performance in the past increases motivational vigor in the future is central to many modern theories. The conflict monitoring model predicts that conflict between incompatible responses reduces susceptibility to upcoming conflict. Recently, this conflict-adaptation effect has been reframed in terms of motivational control: Conflict in the past elicits negative affect, which can be reduced by increasing control, thereby alleviating future conflict and associated negative affect. While evidence supports that conflict adaptation serves a motivational purpose (e.g., affect regulation), it remains unclear whether conflict adaptation is actually triggered by motivational mechanisms. The present research tested this hypothesis of a motivational conflict-adaptation effect. We recorded contin- uous finger movements toward target stimuli and away from distractor stimuli. Motivational conflict was instigated by assigning reward and penalty to stimuli that functioned either as targets or distractors. To index motivational vigor and increased precision due to motivation, we measured initiation times and spatial deviation from the shortest path to the target. Both a reanalysis of published data and data from a new replication study established a motivational conflict-adaptation effect. Together, the results extend a motivational control framework, showing that motivational dynamics (i.e., motivational conflicts) can be the driving force of control.

2019[ to top ]

Pfister, R., Wirth, R., Weller, L., Foerster, A., & Schwarz, K. A. (2019). Taking shortcuts: Cognitive conflict during motivated rule-breaking. Journal of Economic Psychology, 71, 138-147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2018.06.005
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Deliberate rule violations have typically been addressed from a motivational perspective that asked whether or not agents decide to violate rules based on contextual factors and moral con- siderations. Here we complement motivational approaches by providing a cognitive perspective on the processes that operate during the act of committing an unsolicited rule violation. Participants were tested in a task that allowed for violating traffic rules by exploiting forbidden shortcuts in a virtual city maze. Results yielded evidence for sustained cognitive conflict that affected performance from right before a violation throughout actually committing the violation. These findings open up a new theoretical perspective on violation behavior that focuses on processes occurring right at the moment a rule violation takes place.
Wirth, R., Kunde, W., & Pfister, R. (2019). How not to fall for the white bear: Combined frequency and recency manipulations diminish negation effects on overt behavior. Journal of Cognition, 2(1), 11. https://doi.org/10.5334/joc.62
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Processing negated mental representations comes with a price: Not only are negations harder to resolve than affirmative statements, but they may even invoke ironic effects, producing the exact opposite of the intended outcome. Negation effects also behave ironically when subjected to high-frequency training; when they are confronted often, the difficulty to process negations strangely increases. Here we show that negation effects can be mitigated under certain circumstances. Based on models of cognitive control and conflict adaptation, we hypothesized that negation effects diminish when two criteria are met: negations have to be resolved not only frequently, but also just recently. We confirmed this prediction in two experiments by using an innovative, two dimensional finger tracking design, in which we measured the influence of the original semantic content during negation processing via temporal and spatial measures. Negation effects were present throughout the experiment, but were reduced after recent negations, particularly during or after a high-frequency negation context. The combined influence of frequency and recency thus seems to be the most successful and promising attempt to mitigate ironic negation effects on overt behavior.
Foerster, A., Wirth, R., Berghoefer, F. L., Kunde, W., & Pfister, R. (2019). Capacity limitations of dishonesty. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 148(6), 943-961. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000510
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Cognitive theories of dishonesty revolve around an automatic activation of honest response tendencies, which is assumed to impair response selection for the intended dishonest response. Clear-cut evidence for the claim is still limited, however. We therefore present a novel approach to dishonest responding that takes advantage of psychological refractory period methodology. Four experiments yielded evidence supporting the assumption of prolonged response selection during dishonest responding. Moreover, they also showed differences in early response activation and they revealed additional downstream conse- quences of this behavior that are currently not sufficiently covered by common theoretical models. Notably, these downstream consequences included increased monitoring relative to honest behavior. Our results thus provide an extensive coverage of the cognitive architecture of dishonest responses, informing current theorizing while simultaneously grounding the assumed processes in the framework of sensori- motor stage models of information processing.

2018[ to top ]

Wirth, R., Foerster, A., Rendel, H., Kunde, W., & Pfister, R. (2018). Rule-violations sensitise towards negative and authority-related stimuli. Cognition and Emotion, 32(3), 480-493. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2017.1316706
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Rule violations have usually been studied from a third-person perspective, identifying situational factors that render violations more or less likely. A first-person perspective of the agent that actively violates the rules, on the other hand, is only just beginning to emerge. Here we show that committing a rule violation sensitises towards subsequent negative stimuli as well as subsequent authority-related stimuli. In a Prime-Probe design, we used an instructed rule-violation task as the Prime and a word categorisation task as the Probe. Also, we employed a control condition that used a rule inversion task as the Prime (instead of rule violations). Probe targets were categorised faster after a violation relative to after a rule-based response if they related to either, negative valence or authority. Inversions, however, primed only negative stimuli and did not accelerate the categorisation of authority-related stimuli. A heightened sensitivity towards authority-related targets thus seems to be specific to rule violations. A control experiment showed that these effects cannot be explained in terms of semantic priming. Therefore, we propose that rule violations necessarily activate authority-related representations that make rule violations qualitatively different from simple rule inversions.
Wirth, R., Foerster, A., Herbort, O., Kunde, W., & Pfister, R. (2018). This Is How To Be a Rule Breaker. Advances in Cognitive Psychology, 14(1), 21-37. https://doi.org/10.5709/acp-0235-2
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Violating rules comes with cognitive conflict for the rule-breaker. Here, we probed for means to reduce the behavioral effects of this conflict by studying the combined impact of recency and frequency of rule violations. We found that violating a rule facilitated the initiation of a subsequent rule violation, while notable costs relative to rule-based responding remained in measures of re- sponse execution. Such costs during response execution vanished, however, when frequency and recency of rule violation worked in concert. That is, it is possible to overcome the costs of rule viola- tion when (a) having violated this particular rule frequently and (b) having violated this particular rule very recently. Moreover, we demonstrated that recent rule violations reduce the costs of cogni- tive conflict in an unrelated interference task (Simon task). Based on these findings, we present a revised model of the cognitive processes underlying deliberate rule violations.
Wirth, R., Janczyk, M., & Kunde, W. (2018). Effect monitoring in dual-task performance. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 44(4), 553-571. https://doi.org/10.1037/xlm0000474
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Actions aim to produce effects in the environment. To accomplish this properly, we not only have to recruit the appropriate motor patterns, but also we must be able to monitor whether an intended effect has ultimately been realized. Here, we investigated the impact of such effect monitoring on performance in multitasking situations: Multitasking basically means to produce and monitor multiple actions and effects in fast succession. We show that effect monitoring cannot run in parallel, without causing processing decrements, with a second task. Also, monitoring of effects that are spatially incompatible to a response seems to take longer than the monitoring of spatially compatible action effects (Experiments 1 through 4). We further argue that effect monitoring is essential toward learning of response-effect associations, as it captures not only anticipated action effects, but also unpredictable occurrences in the environment (Experiments 5a and 5b).
Wirth, R., Steinhauser, R., Janczyk, M., Steinhauser, M., & Kunde, W. (2018). Long-term and short-term action-effect links and their impact on effect monitoring. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 44(8), 1186-1198. https://doi.org/10.1037/xhp0000524
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People aim to produce effects in the environment, and according to ideomotor theory, actions are selected and executed via anticipations of their effects. Further, to ensure that an action has been successful and an effect has been realized, we must be able to monitor the consequences of our actions. However, action-effect links might vary between situations, some might apply for a majority of situations, while others might only apply to special occasions. With a combination of behavioral and electrophysiological markers, we show that monitoring of self-produced action effects interferes with other tasks, and that the length of effect monitoring is determined by both, long-term action-effect links that hold for most situations, and short-term action-effect links that emerge from a current setting. Effect monitoring is fast and frugal when these action-effect links allow for valid anticipation of action effects, but otherwise effect monitoring takes longer and delays a subsequent task. Specific influences of long-term and short-term links on the P1/N1 and P3a further allow to dissect the temporal dynamics of when these links interact for the purpose of effect monitoring.
Kunde, W., Wirth, R., & Janczyk, M. (2018). The role of feedback delay in dual-task performance. Psychological Research, 82(1), 157-166. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-017-0874-6
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Doing two things at once is hard, and it is probably hard for various reasons. Here we aim to demonstrate that one so far barely considered reason is the monitoring of sensory action feedback, which detracts from processing of other concurrent tasks. To demonstrate this, we engaged participants in a psychological refractory period paradigm. The responses in the two tasks produced visual action effects. These effects occurred either immediately or they were delayed for the first of the two responses. We assumed that delaying these effects would engage a process of monitoring visual feedback longer, and delay a concurrent task more, as compared to immediate effects. This prediction was confirmed in two experiments. We discuss the reasons for feedback monitoring and its possible contribution to dual tasking.
Steinhauser, R., Wirth, R., Kunde, W., Janczyk, M., & Steinhauser, M. (2018). Common mechanisms in error monitoring and action effect monitoring. Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience, 18, 1159–1171. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-018-0628-y
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In the present study, we considered error-related brain activity in event-related potentials, to investigate the relationship between error monitoring—that is, the detection and evaluation of erroneous responses—and action effect monitoring—that is, monitoring of the sensory consequences of behavior. To this end, participants worked on a task-switching paradigm that consisted of a free- choice task, in which a puzzle piece had to be attached to an existing one (the prime task), and a subsequent color flanker task (the probe task). We examined whether unexpected action effects in the prime task would affect the subsequent error monitoring in the probe task. We found the neural correlates of error monitoring during the probe task, the error-related negativity as well as the error positivity, to be increased after unexpected action effects in the prime task. In contrast, the neural correlates of visual attention were decreased after unexpected action effects, in line with recent findings on an attenuation of sensory processing after errors. Our results demonstrate a direct link between monitoring processes in the two tasks. We propose that both error monitoring and action effect monitoring rely on a common generic monitoring system related to novelty detection or affective processing. Preactivating this system by means of unexpected action effects increases the sensitivity for detecting an error in the subsequent task.
Schwarz, K. A., Pfister, R., Wirth, R., & Kunde, W. (2018). Dissociating action-effect activation and effect-based response selection. Acta Psychologica, 188, 16-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2018.05.007
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Anticipated action effects have been shown to govern action selection and initiation, as described in ideomotor theory, and they have also been demonstrated to determine crosstalk between different tasks in multitasking studies. Such effect-based crosstalk was observed not only in a forward manner (with a first task influencing performance in a following second task) but also in a backward manner (the second task influencing the pre- ceding first task), suggesting that action effect codes can become activated prior to a capacity-limited processing stage often denoted as response selection. The process of effect-based response production, by contrast, has been proposed to be capacity-limited. These observations jointly suggest that effect code activation can occur in- dependently of effect-based response production, though this theoretical implication has not been tested directly at present. We tested this hypothesis by employing a dual-task set-up in which we manipulated the ease of effect- based response production (via response-effect compatibility) in an experimental design that allows for obser- ving forward and backward crosstalk. We observed robust crosstalk effects and response-effect compatibility effects alike, but no interaction between both effects. These results indicate that effect activation can occur in parallel for several tasks, independently of effect-based response production, which is confined to one task at a time.
Foerster, A., Pfister, R., Schmidts, C., Dignath, D., Wirth, R., & Kunde, W. (2018). Focused cognitive control in dishonesty: Evidence for predominantly transient conflict adaptation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 44(4), 578-602. https://doi.org/10.1037/xhp0000480
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Giving a dishonest response to a question entails cognitive conflict due to an initial activation of the truthful response. Following conflict monitoring theory, dishonest responding could therefore elicit transient and sustained control adaptation processes to mitigate such conflict, and the current experiments take on the scope and specificity of such conflict adaptation in dishonesty. Transient adaptation reduces differences between honest and dishonest responding following a recent dishonest response. Sustained adaptation has a similar behavioral signature but is driven by the overall frequency of dishonest responding. Both types of adaptation to recent and frequent dishonest responses have been separately documented, leaving open whether control processes in dishonest responding can flexibly adapt to transient and sustained conflict signals of dishonest and other actions. This was the goal of the present experiments which studied (dis) honest responding to autobiographical yes/no questions. Experiment 1 showed robust transient adaptation to recent dishonest responses whereas sustained control adaptation failed to exert an influence on behavior. It further revealed that transient effects may create a spurious impression of sustained adaptation in typical experimental settings. Experiments 2 and 3 examined whether dishonest responding can profit from transient and sustained adaption processes triggered by other behavioral conflicts. This was clearly not the case: Dishonest responding adapted markedly to recent (dis) honest responses but not to any context of other conflicts. These findings indicate that control adaptation in dishonest responding is strong but surprisingly focused and they point to a potential trade-off between transient and sustained adaptation. Public Significance Statement When asked a simple yes/no question, humans automatically retrieve the correct response from memory. Automatic retrieval renders honest responding smooth and efficient-but it triggers cognitive conflict whenever 1 intends to give a dishonest response. This study explored whether cognitive conflict during dishonesty can be mitigated by experimental manipulations that have been demonstrated to boost cognitive control in general. Our results highlight 1 of these manipulations to be particularly efficient: Having responded dishonestly in the immediate past helps to counter conflict. By contrast, all remaining manipulations-frequent dishonest responding or overcoming cognitive conflicts that are unrelated to dishonesty-did not make any unique contributions to the resolution of conflict during dishonesty. Countering the automatic retrieval of honest responses is only possible if recent experiences have just paved the way for giving a dishonest response.

2017[ to top ]

Kunde, W., Schmidts, C., Wirth, R., & Herbort, O. (2017). Action effects are coded as transitions from current to future stimulation: Evidence from compatibility effects in tracking. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 43(3), 477-486. https://doi.org/10.1037/xhp0000311
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There is ample evidence that motor actions are stored in terms of, and controlled by, the sensory effects that these actions produce. At present it is unclear, though, whether action control is governed by intended sensory changes (e.g., the transition from darkness to brightness when switching on a light) or only by intended sensory end states (e.g., the light being on). The present study explored the role of sensory changes for action control. To address this issue, participants engaged in a spatial tracking task. We show that performance is determined by the compatibility between motor patterns and subsequent changes of a controlled stimulus, while the intended end state of the stimulus remains constant. Spatial compatibility increases performance even when perceptual changes of spatial features are not the primary target of control. These results suggest that intended transitions of stimulation have the potential to bias motor actions. We consider these results as an important step toward integrating closed-loop regulation approaches and ideomotor approaches of action control.
Foerster, A., Wirth, R., Herbort, O., Kunde, W., & Pfister, R. (2017). Lying upside-down: Alibis reverse cognitive burdens of dishonesty. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 23(3), 301-319. https://doi.org/10.1037/xap0000129
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The cognitive processes underlying dishonesty, especially the inhibition of automatic honest response tendencies, are reflected in response times and other behavioral measures. Here we suggest that explicit false alibis might have a considerable impact on these cognitive operations. We tested this hypothesis in a controlled experimental setup. Participants first performed several tasks in a preexperimental mission (akin to common mock crime procedures) and received a false alibi afterward. The false alibi stated alternative actions that the participants had to pretend to have performed instead of the actually performed actions. In a computer-based inquiry, the false alibi did not only reduce, but it even reversed the typical behavioral effects of dishonesty on response initiation (Experiment1) and response execution (Experiment 2). Follow-up investigations of response activation via distractor stimuli suggest that false alibis automatize either dishonest response retrieval, the inhibition of the honest response, or both (Experiments 3 and 4). This profound impact suggests that false alibis can override actually performed activities entirely and, thus, documents a severe limitation for cognitive approaches to lie detection.
Foerster, A., Wirth, R., Kunde, W., & Pfister, R. (2017). The dishonest mind set in sequence. Psychological Research, 81(4), 878-899. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-016-0780-3
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Dishonest responding is an important part of the behavioral repertoire and perfectly integrated in communication and daily actions. Thus, previous research aimed at uncovering the cognitive mechanisms underlying dishonest responding by studying its immediate behavioral effects. A comprehensive account of the aftereffects of this type of behavior has not been presented to date, however. Based on the methods and theories from research on task switching, we, therefore, explored the notion of honest and dishonest responding as two distinct intentional sets. In four experiments, participants responded either honestly or dishonestly to simple yes/no questions. Crucially, robust switch costs were found between honest and dishonest responding when questions succeeded promptly (Exp. 1) but also when an unrelated task intervened between questions (Exp. 2). Surprisingly, responding dishonestly to a question also affected responses in the subsequent intervening task in terms of a more liberal response criterion. Time to prepare for the upcoming intentional set further induced asymmetrical switch costs (Exp. 3). Finally, a novel control condition (Exp. 4) allowed us to pinpoint most of the observed effects to negation processing as an inherent mechanism of dishonesty. The experiments shed new light on the cognitive mechanisms underlying dishonesty by providing strong support for the concept of distinct mental sets for honest and dishonest responding. The experiments further reveal that these mental sets are notably stable and are not disturbed by intervening task performance. The observed aftereffects of dishonest responding might also provide a potent extension to applied protocols for lie detection.
Pfister, R., Schwarz, K. A., Wirth, R., & Lindner, I. (2017). My Command, My Act: Observation Inflation in Face-To-Face Interactions. Advances in Cognitive Psychology, 13(2), 166-176. https://doi.org/10.5709/acp-0217-8
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When observing another agent performing simple actions, these actions are systematically remembered as one’s own after a brief period of time. Such observation inflation has been documented as a robust phenomenon in studies in which participants passively observed videotaped actions. Whether observation inflation also holds for direct, face-to-face interactions is an open question that we addressed in two experiments. In Experiment 1, participants commanded the experimenter to carry out certain actions, and they indeed reported false memories of self-performance in a later memory test. The effect size of this inflation effect was similar to passive observation as confirmed by Experiment 2. These findings suggest that observation inflation might affect action memory in a broad range of real-world interactions.
Jusyte, A., Pfister, R., Mayer, S. V., Schwarz, K. A., Wirth, R., Kunde, W., & Schönenberg, M. (2017). Smooth criminal: convicted rule-breakers show reduced cognitive conflict during deliberate rule violations. Psychological Research, 81(5), 939-946. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-016-0798-6
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Classic findings on conformity and obedience document a strong and automatic drive of human agents to follow any type of rule or social norm. At the same time, most individuals tend to violate rules on occasion, and such deliberate rule violations have recently been shown to yield cognitive conflict for the rule-breaker. These findings indicate persistent difficulty to suppress the rule representation, even though rule violations were studied in a controlled experimental setting with neither gains nor possible sanctions for violators. In the current study, we validate these findings by showing that convicted criminals, i.e., individuals with a history of habitual and severe forms of rule violations, can free themselves from such cognitive conflict in a similarly controlled laboratory task. These findings support an emerging view that aims at understanding rule violations from the perspective of the violating agent rather than from the perspective of outside observer.

2016[ to top ]

Wirth, R., Pfister, R., Foerster, A., Huestegge, L., & Kunde, W. (2016). Pushing the rules: effects and aftereffects of deliberate rule violations. Psychological Research, 80(5), 838-852. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-015-0690-9
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Most of our daily life is organized around rules and social norms. But what makes rules so special? And what if one were to break a rule intentionally? Can we simply free us from the present set of rules or do we automatically adhere to them? How do rule violations influence subsequent behavior? To investigate the effects and aftereffects of violating simple S-R rule, we conducted three experiments that investigated continuous finger-tracking responses on an iPad. Our experiments show that rule violations are distinct from rule-based actions in both response times and movement trajectories, they take longer to initiate and execute, and their movement trajectory is heavily contorted. Data not only show differences between the two types of response (rule-based vs. violation), but also yielded a characteristic pattern of aftereffects in case of rule violations: rule violations do not trigger adaptation effects that render further rule violations less difficult, but every rule violation poses repeated effort on the agent. The study represents a first step towards understanding the signature and underlying mechanisms of deliberate rule violations, they cannot be acted out by themselves, but require the activation of the original rule first. Consequently, they are best understood as reformulations of existing rules that are not accessible on their own, but need to be constantly derived from the original rule, with an add-on that might entail an active tendency to steer away from mental representations that reflect (socially) unwanted behavior.
Wirth, R., Pfister, R., & Kunde, W. (2016). Asymmetric transfer effects between cognitive and affective task disturbances. Cognition and Emotion, 30(3), 399-416. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2015.1009002
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Task-irrelevant features of a stimulus can disturb performance on a given task, and this can occur for cognitive reasons such as irrelevant stimulus position, and affective reasons such as high stimulus valence. The human brain adapts to such disturbances in order to ensure successful task performance. Adaptations can occur in a transient manner in response to recent events, and they can also be sustained to account for overall probabilities of disturbances. Here, we study the mutual interplay between affective and cognitive task disturbances under conditions of sustained conflict adaptation. More precisely, we examined the trajectory of finger movements in a speeded classification task and investigated whether adaptation to a high probability of spatial disturbances transfers to the impact of affective disturbances (Experiment 1) and whether adaptation to a high probability of affective disturbances transfers to the impact of spatial disturbances (Experiment 2). Our observations point towards an asymmetric transfer from adaptation to affective onto the processing of cognitive disturbances, but not the other way around.
Pfister, R., Wirth, R., Schwarz, K. A., Foerster, A., Steinhauser, M., & Kunde, W. (2016). The electrophysiological signature of deliberate rule violations. Psychophysiology, 53(12), 1870-1877. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.12771
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Humans follow rules by default, and violating even simple rules induces cognitive conflict for the rule breaker. Previous studies revealed this conflict in various behavioral measures, including response times and movement trajectories. Based on these experiments, we investigated the electrophysiological signature of deliberately violating a simple stimulus-response mapping rule. Such rule violations were characterized by a delayed and attenuated P300 component when evaluating a rule-relevant stimulus, most likely reflecting increased response complexity. This parietal attenuation was followed by a frontal positivity for rule violations relative to correct response trials. Together, these results reinforce previous findings on the need to inhibit automatic S-R translation when committing a rule violation, and they point toward additional factors involved in rule violation. Candidate processes such as negative emotional responses and increased monitoring should be targeted by future investigations.
Wirth, R., Pfister, R., Brandes, J., & Kunde, W. (2016). Stroking me softly: Body-related effects in effect-based action control. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 78(6), 1755-1770. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-016-1151-2
- [ Abstract ]
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Empirical investigations of ideomotor effect anticipations have mainly focused on action effects in the environment. By contrast, action effects that apply to the agent's body have rarely been put to the test in corresponding experimental paradigms. We present a series of experiments using the response-effect compatibility paradigm, in which we studied the impacts of to-be-produced tactile action effects on action selection, initiation, and execution. The results showed a robust and reliable impact if these tactile action effects were rendered task-relevant (Exp. 1), but not when they were task-irrelevant (Exps. 2a and 2b). We further showed that anticipations of tactile action effects follow the same time course as anticipations of environment-related effects (Exps. 3 and 4). These findings demonstrate that body-related action effects affect action control much as environment-related effects do, and therefore support the theoretical assumption of the functional equivalence of all types of action effects.
Pfister, R., Wirth, R., Schwarz, K. A., Steinhauser, M., & Kunde, W. (2016). Burdens of non-conformity: Motor execution reveals cognitive conflict during deliberate rule violations. Cognition, 147, 93-99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2015.11.009
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Rule compliance is pivotal for the regulation of social behavior. Still, humans deliberately violate rules at times - be it for personal reasons or for a higher good. Whereas previous research has studied the preconditions and consequences of rule violations, essentially nothing is known about the cognitive processes right at the moment a rule violation takes place. Here we show that merely labeling an action as rule violation induces substantial conflict between rule violation and compliance, as revealed by participants' bias towards rule -complying motor actions. Moreover, conflict that comes with violating a rule was much stronger than conflict that comes with following an alternative rule, even if both decisions result in the same observable behavior. These observations open a new theoretical perspective on rule violation behavior, shifting the focus toward the cognitive processes operating during the very act of rule violation.
Wirth, R., Dignath, D., Pfister, R., Kunde, W., & Eder, A. B. (2016). Attracted by rewards: Disentangling the motivational influence of rewarding and punishing targets and distractors. Motivation Science, 2(3), 143-156. https://doi.org/10.1037/mot0000037
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Traditional research on action control focuses on the outcome of a decision process and neglects the way by which these decisions are put into action. Here, we provide direct evidence for ongoing control of motivational impulses during postdecision action execution. Using a movement task in which gain/loss stimuli either functioned as targets or distractors, we show that different phases of a movement are distinctly shaped by motivational impulses. Response initiation times revealed control costs for loss targets and distractors, and control benefits for gain targets. However, movement trajectories revealed strong attraction toward the gain distractor, in line with a hypothesized pull of approach-related stimuli, while targets and distractors associated with losses had no repulsive avoidance-related effect on movement trajectories. These results show that motivational processing of goal-relevant stimuli influences the way in which goal-directed actions are executed and highlight a prominent role of reward-related distractors in shaping movement execution.

2015[ to top ]

Wirth, R., Pfister, R., Janczyk, M., & Kunde, W. (2015). Through the portal: Effect anticipation in the central bottleneck. Acta Psychologica, 160, 141-151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2015.07.007
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Ample evidence suggests that motor actions are generated by mentally recollecting their sensory consequences, i.e., via effect anticipations. There is less evidence, though, on the capacity limitations that such effect anticipations suffer from. In the present paper we aim to overcome shortcomings of previous research on this issue by extending the set of empirical indicators of effect anticipations and by using trial-wise instead of block-wise manipulations. In four experiments using the locus of slack- and the effect propagation-logic, we found conclusive evidence for effect anticipation taking place in the capacity-limited central bottleneck. These findings extend previous research suggesting an overlap of a "response selection" process as assumed in traditional stage theory and effect anticipation processes as assumed in effect-based ideomotor models of action control.

2014[ to top ]

Pfister, R., Janczyk, M., Wirth, R., Dignath, D., & Kunde, W. (2014). Thinking with portals: Revisiting kinematic cues to intention. Cognition, 133(2), 464-473. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2014.07.012
- [ Abstract ]
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What we intend to achieve with our actions affects the way we move our body. This has been repeatedly shown for both, movement-related intentions such as grasping and turn- ing an object, and relatively high-level intentions such as the intention to collaborate or to compete with a social partner. The impact of an intermediate level of intentions – referring to action-contingent changes in the physical environment – is far less clear, however. We present three experiments that aim at scrutinizing this level of analysis by showing how such anticipated consequences affect movement trajectories. Participants steered a virtual avatar toward portals that displaced the avatar to a different but predictable location. Even though this displacement occurred only after the movement was completed, hand move- ments were clearly torn toward the anticipated final location of the avatar. These results show that properties of anticipated action consequences leave a fingerprint on movement trajectories and provide an opportunity to unite previous accounts on the relation of inten- tions and movements with general frameworks of action planning.

2017[ to top ]

Consequences of bending and breaking the rules. Robert Wirth, Wilfried Kunde. p. Online-Ressource. Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, 2017, November.
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2014[ to top ]

Über Hochstapelei. Perspektiven auf eine kulturelle Praxis. Schwanebeck, Wieland; Wierschem, Markus; Spieler, Sophie; Pfister, Roland; Foerster, Anna; Schwarz, Katharina; Wirth, Robert; Stopczynski, Lukas; Veelen, Sonja; Herrmann, Anne; Lempp, Felix; Funk, Jannis; Thede, Sebastian; Stricker, Bernhard; Prorombka, Stephan. In , W. Schwanebeck (ed.), p. 226. Neofelis, 2014.
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Lässt sich ein guter Hochstapler als solcher entlarven? Wenn ja: Wie?. Pfister, Roland; Foerster, Anna; Schwarz, Katharina; Wirth, Robert. W. Schwanebeck (ed.), pp. 63–72. Neofelis, 2014.
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title	date	published in
Radio Interview: Brauchen wir ein Rauch-Verbot?	05/2024	hr2
Nach Klopapier jetzt Sonnenblumenöl und Mehl: Ein Würzburger Psychologe erklärt, warum wir hamstern	04/2022	Main Post
Gebote funktionieren besser	12/2021	Die Tageszeitung (taz)
Radio interview: Umgang mit Corona-Regeln: Warum brechen Menschen Regeln?	02/2021	Radio Gong 96.3
Nice and Naughty: There is nothing better than flouting rules. Right?	07/2020	Quest popular science magazine

title	date	invited by
New insights from modality compatibility research	04/2023	Iring Koch, RWTH Aachen
Using continuous movement data for psychological research: A closer look at designing and analyzing two-dimensional tracking experiments (workshop)	10/2021	BRAC Forschungsgruppe at the writing retreat in Freudenberg
Effects and aftereffects of violating rules	10/2016	Andrea Kiesel, Uni Freiburg
Dual task crosstalk and psychometric Intelligence: A correlation approach	11/2015	Lynn Huestegge, Uni Würzburg
Experimental research on tablets and iPads: Possibilities, limitations, and examples of touchscreen-based experimental research	06/2015	Klaus Rothermund, Uni Jena
Of rules and rebels: Effects and aftereffects of rule violations and rule inversions	11/2013	Lynn Huestegge, Uni Würzburg

title	format	conference	year	in
Affective evaluation of self-produced action effect episodes	talk	TeaP	2024	Regensburg
Preconditions for modality compatibility effects	talk	TeaP	2023	Trier
Following affirmative and negated rules	poster	ESCOP	2022	Lille
Modality incompatible episodes trigger adaptation processes	talk	TeaP	2022	Köln
Localizing modality compatibility effects: Evidence from dual-task interference	talk/video	TeaP	2021	Ulm
What to do and what not to do: Breaking positively and negatively formulated rules (conference cancelled)	talk	TeaP	2020	Jena
What to do and what not to do: Breaking positively and negatively formulated rules	talk	ESCOP	2019	Teneriffe
Monitoring of proximal and distal effects and errors	poster	DFG SPP 1772 Progress Report	2019	Gießen
Monitoring proximal and distal effects	talk	TeaP	2019	London
Feature binding contributions to effect monitoring	talk	DFG SPP 1772 Kickoff Meeting	2018	Aachen
Effect monitoring in dual-task performance	talk	Psychonomics	2018	Amsterdam
Hand- and mouse-tracking as a window on cognition, affect, and motivation	symposium	DGPs	2018	Frankfurt
Attracted by rewards	talk	DGPs	2018	Frankfurt
The role of effect monitoring for dual-task performance: a summary	talk	DFG SPP 1772 International Symposium	2018	Gießen
How not to fall for the white bear: Flexible control of negation processing	talk	TeaP	2018	Marburg
How not to fall for the white bear: Flexible control of negation processing	poster	Psychonomics	2017	Vancouver
Effect monitoring in dual-task performance	poster	DFG SPP 1772 International Symposium	2017	Aachen
Attracted by rewards (cancelled due to family reasons)	talk	TeaP	2017	Dresden
Effect monitoring in dual-tasking	talk	DFG SPP 1772 Progress Report	2017	Gießen
Benefits of effect monitoring	poster	DFG SPP 1772 Theoretical Challengdes Meeting	2016	Aachen
Breaking the rules	symposium	TeaP	2016	Heidelberg
Looking for trouble, then looking for cops: Rule violations sensitize towards authority-related stimuli	talk	TeaP	2016	Heidelberg
The role of effect monitoring for dual-task performance	talk	DFG SPP 1772 Kickoff Meeting	2015	Freiburg
Effects and aftereffects of rule violations	talk	ESCOP	2015	Cyprus
Breaking the rules: Cognitive mechanisms and behavioral signatures of non-conformity	symposium	TeaP	2015	Hildesheim
Difficulties and aftereffects of rule violations	talk	TeaP	2015	Hildesheim
Of rules and rebels	talk	TeaP	2014	Gießen
Of rules and rebels	talk	ADok	2013	Trier
I screwed up and I meant to: on comitting and processing of intentional errors	talk	TeaP	2013	Wien
I skrewed up and I meant to: on comitting and processing of intentional errors	talk	HexKoP	2012	Paderborn
The processing of intentional errors	poster	TeaP	2012	Mannheim

Teaching

course number	course title	format	language	teaching level
05023260	Human Factors 1	lecture	german & english	M.Sc. Psychology
05023010	Experimental Research Methods	practical	german & english	B.Sc. Psychology
05023022	Cognitive Psychology 1	seminar	german	B.Sc. Psychology

I offer thesis topics (bachelor & master) based on the research interests listed above.

If you are interested in writing your thesis under my supervision, please write me an email with a rough outline of the research question that you aim to investigate.

Theses under my supervision are customarily written in english.

See also our guidelines for bachelor and master theses.

Dr. Robert Wirth

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