S
UMMARY OF TASK
GENERAL READING
DE WIT, S. (2017). CONTROL OF BEHAVIOUR BY COMPETING LEARNING SYSTEMS. IN T.
EGNER (ED.), THE WILEY HANDBOOK OF COGNITIVE CONTROL (PP. 190–206). CHICESTER, WEST
SUSSEX: JOHN WILEY & SONS.
Goal-directed actions
Refer to behaviors that involve some form of planning, inhibition or other higher-
-
order cognitive function
- PFC involvement
- = goal-directed actions are instrumental behaviors that are only performed
when one has a certain goal + believes that this behavior will increase the
likelihood of reaching that goal
- Goal-directed actions are mediated by knowledge of the causal action-outcome
relationship
🡪 goal-directed actions are goal-directed actions are only executed when the outcome is currently desirable
🡪 goal-directed actions are the outcome needs to constitute a goal
- When a goal-directed action is repeatedly performed, it can gradually turn
into a habit, which is triggered by contextual stimuli even when the
consequences are no longer available
🡪 goal-directed actions are eg. One may absent-mindedly buy popcorn at the cinema even when already fully
sated or when craving an alternative snack more
- Thorndike: “the experience of a reward following an instrumental response leads
to the strengthening of a mental association between the context stimuli (S) +
the response (R), so that on future occasions, the context will directly activate
the response through the S-R association
🡪 goal-directed actions are in contrast, the occurrence of an aversive outcome should weaken the S-
R association Instrumental behavior
- Is learnt as a consequence of a causal relationship between the action/response (R) &
its outcome (O)
🡪 goal-directed actions are as opposed to being controlled purely by predictive Pavlovian relationships between
environmental stimuli (S) and the outcome
- Belief criteria:
- Desire criteria:
Difference between habits + goal-directed actions:
- In goal-directed actions: performance mediated by knowledge of the R🡪 goal-directed actions are O
relationship + an evaluation of the anticipated outcome in light of one’s current
motivation
- Habits: are mediated by S-R links, they are ‘behaviorally autonomous’ of the current
, desirability of the outcome
- Advantage of habits:
a. can be executed fast + in an efficient manner
b. by freeing up cogn. resources, habit formation (or skill learning) thus allows
us to attend to other important matters
INVESTIGATING THE GOAL-DIRECTED VS HABITUAL STATUS OF BEHAVIOR
- frequent repetition leads to a shift from goal-directed control towards habit
🡪 goal-directed actions are this can be shown by behavioural intentions being a weaker predictor of actions
that are performed frequently (eg. Seat belt use) than those that are performed
rarely (eg. Course enrolment)
- habits moderate the strength of the relation between behavioural intention + the
actual behaviour
- habits are context dependent
🡪 goal-directed actions are eg. People with environmental concerns were more likely to act on their good
intentions by restricting car use if they had just recently moved (= habit
discontinuity hypothesis)
Habit discontinuity hypothesis
- old S-R habits can be disrupted by a change in context, thereby providing a
window of opportunity for adapting behaviour in light of one’s current goals
, NEUROBIOLOGY OF ACTION + HABIT
Dissociable corticostriatal pathways are responsible for goal-directed action vs habit:
- regions in goal-directed control:
a. prelimbic cortex (R-O learning process)
b. dorsomedial striatum (goal-directed performance)
c. mediodorsal thalamus
🡪 goal-directed actions are lesioning or inactivating these regions reduced the sensitivity to outcome devaluation
- regions in habit formation:
a. infralimbic cortex
b. dorsolateral striatum
🡪 goal-directed actions are lesioning or inactivating these regions will disrupt habit formation
🡺 neuroscientific investigations provided evidence for a neuroscientific investigations provided evidence for a neural dual-system architecture
DUAL SYSTEM
Stanovich’s System 1 + 2 (1999)
- System 1: intuitive, subconscious, implicit + associative; fast + requires little cogn.
Effort
- System 2: deliberative, conscious, explicit + rule-based; slow + limited capacity
🡺 neuroscientific investigations provided evidence for a This model is NOT optimally suited to capture the distinction between goal-directed vs
habitual control
Hot/cold system analysis of delay gratification of Metcalfe + Mischen ( 1999)
- Cogn. Cool system competes with stimulus-controlled emotional hot system for action
control
🡺 neuroscientific investigations provided evidence for a This framework would NOT be suitable to apply to the dissociation between the
fundamental capacities of goal- directed action + habit
The associative-cybernetic (AC) model
- It is an integrated associative dual-system account of instrumental action
control that was derived from Thorndike’s ‘representative’ or ‘ideational’
theory of human instrumental behaviour
- According to the model: the degree to which behaviour is habitual is
determined by the rel. strengths of associations in S-R & R-O systems
🡪 goal-directed actions are both of these associative systems can generate behavioural output by activating the
, motor system
- S-R system: activates specific motor units
- R-O system: generally enhances motor activity to the extent that the
anticipated outcome is positively evaluated by the incentive system
🡪 goal-directed actions are consequently: S-R & R-O systems do not simply compete for action control, but
they also have to work together
🡪 goal-directed actions are only after moderate repetition, the S-R associations should still be rel. weak
+ therefore habit formation on its own should be unable to activate specific
motor units above a certain threshold that is required for motor output
🡪 goal-directed actions are an additional general ‘boost’ of the motor system is required through the R-
O system
🡪 goal-directed actions are a general pos. feedback signal will thus be generated, & if it coincides with the
specific response activation by the S-R system, then the two signals will summate
to activate individual motor units sufficiently to generate a motor response
🡺 neuroscientific investigations provided evidence for a Thus, after limited repetition, behaviour is goal-directed thanks to cooperation between
the S-R & R-O systems
🡺 neuroscientific investigations provided evidence for a BUT, since external stimuli can prime responses that have been reinforced as a
consequence of past rewarding experiences, goal-directed actions can be
selected through an indirect S-R-O associative chain after limited repetition
- Example: drinking coffee at work
🡪 goal-directed actions are the first cup of coffee during work break (1ST rewarding experience reinforces an
association between work surroundings + the behaviour of drinking coffee)
UMMARY OF TASK
GENERAL READING
DE WIT, S. (2017). CONTROL OF BEHAVIOUR BY COMPETING LEARNING SYSTEMS. IN T.
EGNER (ED.), THE WILEY HANDBOOK OF COGNITIVE CONTROL (PP. 190–206). CHICESTER, WEST
SUSSEX: JOHN WILEY & SONS.
Goal-directed actions
Refer to behaviors that involve some form of planning, inhibition or other higher-
-
order cognitive function
- PFC involvement
- = goal-directed actions are instrumental behaviors that are only performed
when one has a certain goal + believes that this behavior will increase the
likelihood of reaching that goal
- Goal-directed actions are mediated by knowledge of the causal action-outcome
relationship
🡪 goal-directed actions are goal-directed actions are only executed when the outcome is currently desirable
🡪 goal-directed actions are the outcome needs to constitute a goal
- When a goal-directed action is repeatedly performed, it can gradually turn
into a habit, which is triggered by contextual stimuli even when the
consequences are no longer available
🡪 goal-directed actions are eg. One may absent-mindedly buy popcorn at the cinema even when already fully
sated or when craving an alternative snack more
- Thorndike: “the experience of a reward following an instrumental response leads
to the strengthening of a mental association between the context stimuli (S) +
the response (R), so that on future occasions, the context will directly activate
the response through the S-R association
🡪 goal-directed actions are in contrast, the occurrence of an aversive outcome should weaken the S-
R association Instrumental behavior
- Is learnt as a consequence of a causal relationship between the action/response (R) &
its outcome (O)
🡪 goal-directed actions are as opposed to being controlled purely by predictive Pavlovian relationships between
environmental stimuli (S) and the outcome
- Belief criteria:
- Desire criteria:
Difference between habits + goal-directed actions:
- In goal-directed actions: performance mediated by knowledge of the R🡪 goal-directed actions are O
relationship + an evaluation of the anticipated outcome in light of one’s current
motivation
- Habits: are mediated by S-R links, they are ‘behaviorally autonomous’ of the current
, desirability of the outcome
- Advantage of habits:
a. can be executed fast + in an efficient manner
b. by freeing up cogn. resources, habit formation (or skill learning) thus allows
us to attend to other important matters
INVESTIGATING THE GOAL-DIRECTED VS HABITUAL STATUS OF BEHAVIOR
- frequent repetition leads to a shift from goal-directed control towards habit
🡪 goal-directed actions are this can be shown by behavioural intentions being a weaker predictor of actions
that are performed frequently (eg. Seat belt use) than those that are performed
rarely (eg. Course enrolment)
- habits moderate the strength of the relation between behavioural intention + the
actual behaviour
- habits are context dependent
🡪 goal-directed actions are eg. People with environmental concerns were more likely to act on their good
intentions by restricting car use if they had just recently moved (= habit
discontinuity hypothesis)
Habit discontinuity hypothesis
- old S-R habits can be disrupted by a change in context, thereby providing a
window of opportunity for adapting behaviour in light of one’s current goals
, NEUROBIOLOGY OF ACTION + HABIT
Dissociable corticostriatal pathways are responsible for goal-directed action vs habit:
- regions in goal-directed control:
a. prelimbic cortex (R-O learning process)
b. dorsomedial striatum (goal-directed performance)
c. mediodorsal thalamus
🡪 goal-directed actions are lesioning or inactivating these regions reduced the sensitivity to outcome devaluation
- regions in habit formation:
a. infralimbic cortex
b. dorsolateral striatum
🡪 goal-directed actions are lesioning or inactivating these regions will disrupt habit formation
🡺 neuroscientific investigations provided evidence for a neuroscientific investigations provided evidence for a neural dual-system architecture
DUAL SYSTEM
Stanovich’s System 1 + 2 (1999)
- System 1: intuitive, subconscious, implicit + associative; fast + requires little cogn.
Effort
- System 2: deliberative, conscious, explicit + rule-based; slow + limited capacity
🡺 neuroscientific investigations provided evidence for a This model is NOT optimally suited to capture the distinction between goal-directed vs
habitual control
Hot/cold system analysis of delay gratification of Metcalfe + Mischen ( 1999)
- Cogn. Cool system competes with stimulus-controlled emotional hot system for action
control
🡺 neuroscientific investigations provided evidence for a This framework would NOT be suitable to apply to the dissociation between the
fundamental capacities of goal- directed action + habit
The associative-cybernetic (AC) model
- It is an integrated associative dual-system account of instrumental action
control that was derived from Thorndike’s ‘representative’ or ‘ideational’
theory of human instrumental behaviour
- According to the model: the degree to which behaviour is habitual is
determined by the rel. strengths of associations in S-R & R-O systems
🡪 goal-directed actions are both of these associative systems can generate behavioural output by activating the
, motor system
- S-R system: activates specific motor units
- R-O system: generally enhances motor activity to the extent that the
anticipated outcome is positively evaluated by the incentive system
🡪 goal-directed actions are consequently: S-R & R-O systems do not simply compete for action control, but
they also have to work together
🡪 goal-directed actions are only after moderate repetition, the S-R associations should still be rel. weak
+ therefore habit formation on its own should be unable to activate specific
motor units above a certain threshold that is required for motor output
🡪 goal-directed actions are an additional general ‘boost’ of the motor system is required through the R-
O system
🡪 goal-directed actions are a general pos. feedback signal will thus be generated, & if it coincides with the
specific response activation by the S-R system, then the two signals will summate
to activate individual motor units sufficiently to generate a motor response
🡺 neuroscientific investigations provided evidence for a Thus, after limited repetition, behaviour is goal-directed thanks to cooperation between
the S-R & R-O systems
🡺 neuroscientific investigations provided evidence for a BUT, since external stimuli can prime responses that have been reinforced as a
consequence of past rewarding experiences, goal-directed actions can be
selected through an indirect S-R-O associative chain after limited repetition
- Example: drinking coffee at work
🡪 goal-directed actions are the first cup of coffee during work break (1ST rewarding experience reinforces an
association between work surroundings + the behaviour of drinking coffee)
