Why Do you Often Stop your Impulsive Behavior at the Last Moment?

Abstract

Intentional inhibition, a critical ability of human cognitive control, is the capacity to internally withhold a to-be-performed action. In the voluntary decision-making process, the cognitive system continuously generates intentional inhibition to ensure appropriate actions. However, the temporal dynamic of intentional inhibition is unclear. This study investigated the role of temporal preparation in internally generated intentional inhibition using a novel task that involved a modified free-choice task and a foreperiod paradigm. The experiment included Go, No-Go and free-choice trials, and temporal preparation was manipulated by varying the duration and constancy of the interval between the warning stimulus and target stimulus. The results showed that a high degree of temporal preparation can strengthen the intentional decision to inhibit action on free choices. By demonstrating that intentional inhibition is enhanced with increased temporal preparation, the present study illustrates how the cognitive decision-making system controls the flexibility and strategy in human behavior.