Cognitive-Motivational Interactions: Beyond Boxes-and-Arrows Models of the Mind-Brain

How do motivation and cognitive control interact in brain and behavior? The past decade has witnessed a steady growth in studies investigating both the behavioral and the brain basis of these interactions. In this article, I describe such interactions in the context of the dual completion model, which proposes that motivational significance influences both perceptual and executive competition. Embracing a research agenda that attempts to understand cognition-motivation interactions highlights considerable challenges faced by investigators. For example, even the standard language utilized, with terms such as “perception,” “attention,” “cognition,” and “motivation,” encourages a modular-like conceptualization of the underlying processes and mechanisms. I propose that large-scale interactions involving both task-related and valuation-related networks help understand how motivation shapes executive function. I argue that, ultimately, the mind and brain sciences need to move beyond “boxes and arrows” and fully embrace the richness and complexity of the interactions between motivation and cognition.