The influence of trial order on learning from reward versus punishment in a probabilistic categorization task: Experimental and computational analyses
Previous research has shown that trial ordering affects cognitive performance, but this has not been not tested using category-learning tasks that differentiate learning from reward and punishment. Here, we tested two groups of healthy young adults using a probabilistic category learning task of rew...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2015-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience |
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| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00153/full |
| _version_ | 1818526752985579520 |
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| author | Ahmed A. Moustafa Ahmed A. Moustafa Mark A. Gluck Mohammad M. Herzallah Mohammad M. Herzallah Catherine E Myers Catherine E Myers Catherine E Myers |
| author_facet | Ahmed A. Moustafa Ahmed A. Moustafa Mark A. Gluck Mohammad M. Herzallah Mohammad M. Herzallah Catherine E Myers Catherine E Myers Catherine E Myers |
| author_sort | Ahmed A. Moustafa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Previous research has shown that trial ordering affects cognitive performance, but this has not been not tested using category-learning tasks that differentiate learning from reward and punishment. Here, we tested two groups of healthy young adults using a probabilistic category learning task of reward and punishment in which there are two types of trials (reward, punishment) and three possible outcomes: (1) positive feedback for correct responses in reward trials, (2) negative feedback for incorrect responses in punishment trials, and (3) no feedback for incorrect answers in reward trials and correct answers in punishment trials. Hence, trials without feedback are ambiguous, and may represent either successful avoidance of punishment or failure to obtain reward. In Experiment 1, the first group of subjects received an intermixed task in which reward and punishment trials were presented in the same block, as a standard baseline task. In Experiment 2, a second group completed the separated task, in which reward and punishment trials were presented in separate blocks. Additionally, in order to understand the mechanisms underlying performance in the experimental conditions, we fit individual data using a Q-learning model. Results from Experiment 1 show that subjects who completed the intermixed task paradoxically valued the no-feedback outcome as a reinforcer when it occurred on reinforcement-based trials, and as a punisher when it occurred on punishment-based trials. This is supported by patterns of empirical responding, where subjects showed more win-stay behavior following an explicit reward than following an omission of punishment, and more lose-shift behavior following an explicit punisher than following an omission of reward. In Experiment 2, results showed similar performance whether subjects received reward-based or punishment-based trials first. However, when the Q-learning model was applied to these data, there were differences between subjects in the rew |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T06:27:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e3e6f89f93594a4288f8370e31b29a58 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5153 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T06:27:19Z |
| publishDate | 2015-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-e3e6f89f93594a4288f8370e31b29a582022-12-22T01:17:39ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience1662-51532015-07-01910.3389/fnbeh.2015.00153141170The influence of trial order on learning from reward versus punishment in a probabilistic categorization task: Experimental and computational analysesAhmed A. Moustafa0Ahmed A. Moustafa1Mark A. Gluck2Mohammad M. Herzallah3Mohammad M. Herzallah4Catherine E Myers5Catherine E Myers6Catherine E Myers7School of Social Sciences and Psychology & Marcs Institute for Brain and BehaviourNew Jersey Health Care SystemRutgers, The State University of New JerseyAl-Quds UniversityRutgers, The State University of New JerseyNew Jersey Health Care SystemRutgers, The State University of New JerseyRutgers, The State University of New JerseyPrevious research has shown that trial ordering affects cognitive performance, but this has not been not tested using category-learning tasks that differentiate learning from reward and punishment. Here, we tested two groups of healthy young adults using a probabilistic category learning task of reward and punishment in which there are two types of trials (reward, punishment) and three possible outcomes: (1) positive feedback for correct responses in reward trials, (2) negative feedback for incorrect responses in punishment trials, and (3) no feedback for incorrect answers in reward trials and correct answers in punishment trials. Hence, trials without feedback are ambiguous, and may represent either successful avoidance of punishment or failure to obtain reward. In Experiment 1, the first group of subjects received an intermixed task in which reward and punishment trials were presented in the same block, as a standard baseline task. In Experiment 2, a second group completed the separated task, in which reward and punishment trials were presented in separate blocks. Additionally, in order to understand the mechanisms underlying performance in the experimental conditions, we fit individual data using a Q-learning model. Results from Experiment 1 show that subjects who completed the intermixed task paradoxically valued the no-feedback outcome as a reinforcer when it occurred on reinforcement-based trials, and as a punisher when it occurred on punishment-based trials. This is supported by patterns of empirical responding, where subjects showed more win-stay behavior following an explicit reward than following an omission of punishment, and more lose-shift behavior following an explicit punisher than following an omission of reward. In Experiment 2, results showed similar performance whether subjects received reward-based or punishment-based trials first. However, when the Q-learning model was applied to these data, there were differences between subjects in the rewhttp://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00153/fullPunishmentRewardcategory learningQ-Learning Computational ModelIntermixed Trials |
| spellingShingle | Ahmed A. Moustafa Ahmed A. Moustafa Mark A. Gluck Mohammad M. Herzallah Mohammad M. Herzallah Catherine E Myers Catherine E Myers Catherine E Myers The influence of trial order on learning from reward versus punishment in a probabilistic categorization task: Experimental and computational analyses Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience Punishment Reward category learning Q-Learning Computational Model Intermixed Trials |
| title | The influence of trial order on learning from reward versus punishment in a probabilistic categorization task: Experimental and computational analyses |
| title_full | The influence of trial order on learning from reward versus punishment in a probabilistic categorization task: Experimental and computational analyses |
| title_fullStr | The influence of trial order on learning from reward versus punishment in a probabilistic categorization task: Experimental and computational analyses |
| title_full_unstemmed | The influence of trial order on learning from reward versus punishment in a probabilistic categorization task: Experimental and computational analyses |
| title_short | The influence of trial order on learning from reward versus punishment in a probabilistic categorization task: Experimental and computational analyses |
| title_sort | influence of trial order on learning from reward versus punishment in a probabilistic categorization task experimental and computational analyses |
| topic | Punishment Reward category learning Q-Learning Computational Model Intermixed Trials |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00153/full |
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