Task mechanics
OSF, ABM, RTT
The aim of each task was to ‘survive’ for as long as possible while the difficulty continuously increased. After six correct responses during the GNG task, the difficulty was raised by decreasing the RTT. For the ABM, the difficulty was increased after three correct cued trials by moving the cue onset closer to the picture’s offset (Go Signal Delay; GSD), thus reducing the available response time window (Table When a total of five speed or five commission errors were reached, the run was over. The current error count was displayed by a speed and accuracy gauge whereby a level was lost when an error was committed. This distinct gauge system was introduced to ensure that the participants maintain a stable speed-accuracy trade-off.At the end of a run, the participants received feedback on their score, the ranking of their run compared to their previous run, in-game currencies, and the difficulty level they reached. In case of a best score, a rewarding animation was played. Further, a gauge displaying how many times they played (in minutes) was filled with the current length of the run. When this gauge was full, it meant the participant had completed the required 10 min of training time for this task. To complete the intervention, the participants needed to fill this gauge 20 times during each task for a total of 400 min.Rewarded in-game currencies allowed the participants to renew their game experience by buying four kinds of ‘power-ups’ interacting with the number of permitted errors, difficulty, and score mechanisms. This currency was task-specific (i.e., to obtain a power-up at the ABM, currencies need to be obtained from the GNG task, and vice versa). More details about this procedure are available on the OSF webpage (10.17605/OSF.IO/5ESMP).From the start menu screen, the participants could access the rank of their best scores compared to the other participants’ best scores in the shape of a table as an optional social motivation incentive.