Why mistakes slow us down?

​New York: Taking more time to make decisions after a mistake arises from a mixture of adaptive neural mechanisms that improve the accuracy and reduce maladaptive mechanisms, according to a study.

"Our research reveals that a combination of changes in the brain slow us down after mistakes," said Braden Purcell, a New York University researcher and coauthor of the study. "One gathers more information for the decision to prevent repeating the same mistake again.

A second change reduces the quality of evidence we obtain, which decreases the likelihood we will make an accurate choice," Purcell added. It has been long established that humans often slow down after mistakes, a phenomenon called post-error slowing (PES). Less clear, however, are the neurological processes that occur under PES.