Effort expenditure modulates feedback evaluations involving self–other agreement: evidence from brain potentials and neural oscillations

Abstract

Abstract The influence of effort expenditure on the subjective value in feedback involving material reward has been the focus of previous research. However, little is known about the impact of effort expenditure on subjective value evaluations when feedback involves reward that is produced in the context of social interaction (e.g. self–other agreement). Moreover, how effort expenditure influences confidence (second-order subjective value) in feedback evaluations remains unclear. Using electroencephalography, this study aimed to address these questions. Event-related potentials showed that, after exerting high effort, participants exhibited increased reward positivity difference in response to self–other (dis)agreement feedback. After exerting low effort, participants reported high confidence, and the self–other disagreement feedback evoked a larger P3a. Time–frequency analysis showed that the high-effort task evoked increased frontal midline theta power. In the low (vs. high)-effort task, the frontal midline delta power for self–other disagreement feedback was enhanced. These findings suggest that, at the early feedback evaluation stage, after exerting high effort, individuals exhibit an increased sensitivity of subjective value evaluation in response to self–other agreement feedback. At the later feedback evaluation stage, after completing the low-effort task, the self–other disagreement feedback violates the individuals’high confidence and leads to a metacognitive mismatch.