scholarly journals Choosing and learning: outcome valence differentially affects learning from free versus forced choices

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valérian Chambon ◽  
Héloïse Théro ◽  
Marie Vidal ◽  
Henri Vandendriessche ◽  
Patrick Haggard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Confirmation Bias ◽  
Forced Choice ◽  
Prediction Errors ◽  
Negative Events ◽  
Positive Events ◽  
Learning Rates ◽  
Outcome Valence ◽  
Special Value ◽  
Computational Analyses ◽  
Robust Evidence

AbstractPositivity bias refers to learning more from positive than negative events. This learning asymmetry could either reflect a preference for positive events in general, or be the upshot of a more general, and perhaps, ubiquitous, “choice-confirmation” bias, whereby agents preferentially integrate information that confirms their previous decision. We systematically compared these two theories with 3 experiments mixing free- and forced-choice conditions, featuring factual and counterfactual learning and varying action requirements across “go” and “no-go” trials. Computational analyses of learning rates showed clear and robust evidence in favour of the “choice-confirmation” theory: participants amplified positive prediction errors in free-choice conditions while being valence-neutral on forced-choice conditions. We suggest that a choice-confirmation bias is adaptive to the extent that it reinforces actions that are most likely to meet an individual’s needs, i.e. freely chosen actions. In contrast, outcomes from unchosen actions are more likely to be treated impartially, i.e. to be assigned no special value in self-determined decisions.

Responsiveness processes and daily experiences of shared reality among romantic couples

2021 ◽  
pp. 026540752110176
Author(s):  
Yael Bar-Shachar ◽  
Eran Bar-Kalifa
Keyword(s):  
Significant Interaction ◽  
Epistemic Uncertainty ◽  
Romantic Partners ◽  
Negative Events ◽  
Romantic Couples ◽  
Positive Events ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Daily Diaries ◽  
Shared Reality ◽  
Critical Process

Shared reality (SR) is the experience of having an inner state believed to be shared by others. Dyadic responsiveness has been suggested to be a critical process in SR construction. The present study tested the extent to which SR varies in the daily lives of romantic partners and whether this variability is related to responsiveness processes. We predicted that disclosure of personal events to one’s partner as well as perceived partner enacted responsiveness would be associated with daily levels of SR. We further predicted that these associations would be more pronounced when one has low epistemic certainty with respect to the disclosed event. To test these hypotheses, daily diaries were collected from 76 cohabiting romantic couples for a period of 4 weeks. Participants reported the occurrence of daily personal positive and negative events, indicated whether they had disclosed these events to their partner, and described how their partner had responded. As predicted, the disclosure of positive and negative events, as well as the perceptions of partners’ constructive responses to these disclosures, were positively associated with daily SR. A significant interaction was found between epistemic uncertainty (i.e., low perceived social consensus) and responsiveness processes in the context of negative (but not positive) events; specifically, when participants experienced low certainty, the disclosure of the event and the perceived partner’s constructive response were more strongly associated with SR.

scholarly journals Good is stronger than bad for eudaimonic well-being

2022 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 455-490
Author(s):  
Gonzalo Martínez-Zelaya ◽  
Marian Bilbao Ramírez ◽  
Darío Páez Rovira
Keyword(s):  
Life Events ◽  
Representative Sample ◽  
Negative Life Events ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Negative Events ◽  
Positive Events ◽  
Post Traumatic Growth ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Basic Beliefs

Perceived changes in basic beliefs and growth related to life events were examined in three studies. A representative sample (N = 885), a sample of students and their families (N = 291) and a sample of students (N = 245) responded with a list of positive and negative life events, a scale of changes in basic beliefs and a post-traumatic growth scale. Positive events were strongly associated with changes in basic beliefs, while only weak associations were found for negative events. In addition, negative changes in basic beliefs were associated with growth only in negative life events and positive changes in basic beliefs were generally associated with growth.

scholarly journals A nonlinear relationship between prediction errors and learning rates in human reinforcement learning

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erdem Pulcu
Keyword(s):  
Reinforcement Learning ◽  
Nonlinear Relationship ◽  
Prediction Errors ◽  
Learning Rates ◽  
The Face ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Actual Outcome ◽  
Update Rules ◽  
Different Sources

AbstractWe are living in a dynamic world in which stochastic relationships between cues and outcome events create different sources of uncertainty1 (e.g. the fact that not all grey clouds bring rain). Living in an uncertain world continuously probes learning systems in the brain, guiding agents to make better decisions. This is a type of value-based decision-making which is very important for survival in the wild and long-term evolutionary fitness. Consequently, reinforcement learning (RL) models describing cognitive/computational processes underlying learning-based adaptations have been pivotal in behavioural2,3 and neural sciences4–6, as well as machine learning7,8. This paper demonstrates the suitability of novel update rules for RL, based on a nonlinear relationship between prediction errors (i.e. difference between the agent’s expectation and the actual outcome) and learning rates (i.e. a coefficient with which agents update their beliefs about the environment), that can account for learning-based adaptations in the face of environmental uncertainty. These models illustrate how learners can flexibly adapt to dynamically changing environments.

Understanding Child Anxiety

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Eli R. Lebowitz
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Child Anxiety ◽  
Anxiety Level ◽  
Negative Events ◽  
Biological Factors ◽  
Positive Events ◽  
Perceived Risks ◽  
Course Of Action ◽  
Ultimate Outcome

This chapter provides an overview of anxiety in general, and child anxiety in particular. A child who is anxious is typically going to overestimate the likelihood of negative events and to downplay the likelihood of positive ones. What is the ultimate outcome of these predictable patterns of thinking? If negative events seem highly probable, while positive events seem less likely, it is not surprising that anxious children tend to veer away from perceived risks and to move toward a more cautious course of action. The chapter then addresses some common questions asked by parents of children with anxiety. Multiple things can contribute to a child’s anxiety level, including internal and biological factors as well as external and environmental factors. Anxiety can also look very different in different children. It is useful to think about a child’s functioning in four separate domains: body, thoughts, behavior, and feelings. Anxiety can impact each domain in various ways.

scholarly journals In Human Memory, Good Can Be Stronger Than Bad

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constantine Sedikides ◽  
John J. Skowronski
Keyword(s):  
False Memory ◽  
Psychological Impact ◽  
Human Memory ◽  
Negative Information ◽  
Negative Events ◽  
Regulatory Activity ◽  
Positive Information ◽  
Positive Events ◽  
Self Protection ◽  
Positive Content

Some researchers assert that the psychological impact of negative information is more powerful than that of positive information. This assertion is qualified in the domain of human memory, in which (a) positive content is often favored (in the strength of memories for real stimuli or events and in false-memory generation) over negative content and (b) the affect prompted by memories of positive events is more temporally persistent than the affect prompted by memories of negative events. We suggest that both of these phenomena reflect the actions of self-motives (i.e., self-protection and self-enhancement), which instigate self-regulatory activity and self-relevant processes.

Narcissism and Causal Attribution

1997 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 171-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen R. Ladd ◽  
M. Cay Welsh ◽  
William F. Vitulli ◽  
Elise E. Labbé ◽  
Joseph G. Law
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Attributional Style ◽  
Causal Attribution ◽  
Personality Inventory ◽  
Negative Events ◽  
Positive Events ◽  
Narcissistic Personality ◽  
Narcissistic Personality Inventory ◽  
Attributional Style Questionnaire ◽  
The Relationship

This study examined the relationship between scores on narcissistic personality traits and causal attributions to positive and negative events. 119 undergraduate students in psychology as participants completed the Narcissistic Personality Inventory-40, the Attributional Style Questionnaire, and several Self-referencing Closed-ended Vignettes. Analyses indicated that men who scored higher on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory-40 made more internal and stable attributions to positive events and more external and unstable attributions to negative events than did men who scored lower on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory-40. Also scores on the Self-referencing Closed-ended Vignettes correlated significantly and positively with the Attributional Style Questionnaire, providing evidence for the validity of the vignettes.

Counterfactuals in Health and Risk Messaging

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irina A. Iles ◽  
Xiaoli Nan
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Counterfactual Thinking ◽  
Depth Information ◽  
Negative Events ◽  
Positive Events ◽  
Political Sciences ◽  
The Social ◽  
The One ◽  
The Individual ◽  
And Control

Counterfactual thinking is the process of mentally undoing the outcome of an event by imagining alternate antecedent states. For example, one might think that if they had given up smoking earlier, their health would be better. Counterfactuals are more frequent following negative events than positive events. Counterfactuals have both aversive and beneficial consequences for the individual. On the one hand, individuals who engage in counterfactual thinking experience negative affect and are prone to biased judgment and decision making. On the other hand, counterfactuals serve a preparative function, and they help people reach their goals in the future by suggesting effective behavioral alternatives. Counterfactual thoughts have been found to influence an array of cognitive processes. Engaging in counterfactual thinking motivates careful, in-depth information processing, increases perceptions of self-efficacy and control, influences attitudes toward social matters, with consequences for behavioral intentions and subsequent behaviors. Although it is a heavily studied matter in some domains of the social sciences (e.g., psychology, political sciences, decision making), counterfactual thinking has received less attention in the communication discipline. Findings from the few studies conducted in communication suggest that counterfactual thinking is a promising message design strategy in risk and health contexts. Still, research in this area is critically needed, and it represents an opportunity to expand our knowledge.

scholarly journals When Good Feelings Turn Mixed: Affective Dynamics and Big Five Trait Predictors of Mixed Emotions in Daily Life

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 393-411
Author(s):  
Kate A. Barford ◽  
Peter Koval ◽  
Peter Kuppens ◽  
Luke D. Smillie
Keyword(s):  
Big Five ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Negative Events ◽  
Positive Events ◽  
Personality Psychology ◽  
Total N ◽  
Mixed Emotions ◽  
Sampling Studies ◽  
Affective Dynamics ◽  
Negative Feelings

In this study, we examine how daily life fluctuations in positive affect (PA) and negative afect (NA) relate to mixed emotions—that is, simultaneous positive and negative feelings. We utilised three experience sampling studies (total N = 275), in which participants reported their affect 10 times each day for up to 14 days. Because people generally experience fairly stable moderate levels of PA in daily life, we proposed that mixed emotions would typically occur when NA increases and overlaps with, but does not entirely eliminate, PA. Accordingly, within individuals, we found that mixed emotions in daily life were more strongly predicted by changes in NA and the occurrence of negative events than by changes in PA and positive events. At the between–person level, individuals with more variable NA, more stable PA, and higher trait Neuroticism scores experienced higher average levels of mixed emotions. Further, we found evidence that the average magnitude of NA increases may partially mediate the association between Neuroticism and mixed emotions. We also found that positive predictors of mixed emotions are negative predictors of individuals’ within–person PA/NA correlations—that is, affective synchrony. Our findings elucidate trait predictors and affective dynamics of daily life mixed emotions, which appear closely intertwined with NA variability. © 2020 European Association of Personality Psychology

scholarly journals Affective bias as a rational response to the statistics of rewards and punishments

eLife ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erdem Pulcu ◽  
Michael Browning
Keyword(s):  
Information Content ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Negative Outcomes ◽  
Computational Framework ◽  
Positive Events ◽  
Treatment Development ◽  
Learning Rates ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Affective Bias ◽  
Human Participants

Affective bias, the tendency to differentially prioritise the processing of negative relative to positive events, is commonly observed in clinical and non-clinical populations. However, why such biases develop is not known. Using a computational framework, we investigated whether affective biases may reflect individuals’ estimates of the information content of negative relative to positive events. During a reinforcement learning task, the information content of positive and negative outcomes was manipulated independently by varying the volatility of their occurrence. Human participants altered the learning rates used for the outcomes selectively, preferentially learning from the most informative. This behaviour was associated with activity of the central norepinephrine system, estimated using pupilometry, for loss outcomes. Humans maintain independent estimates of the information content of distinct positive and negative outcomes which may bias their processing of affective events. Normalising affective biases using computationally inspired interventions may represent a novel approach to treatment development.

Explanations for Positive and Negative Events Among Heavy and Moderate College Drinkers

1989 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 291-297
Author(s):  
Kevin J. Corcoran ◽  
Paige E. Thielbahr
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Attributional Style ◽  
Depressed Mood ◽  
Explanatory Style ◽  
Negative Events ◽  
Positive Events ◽  
Moderate Drinking ◽  
Attributional Style Questionnaire ◽  
College Drinkers ◽  
The Relationship

This study examined the relationship between explanatory style for positive and negative events in heavy- and moderate-drinking college students. Results indicate no difference between the two drinking groups in explanations for negative events; however, hearvier-drinking subjects did tend to have more global and stable explanations for positive events. In addition, those subjects attached more importance to positive events. Results are discussed in terms of the utility of such a style in avoiding depressed mood. Also discussed is the potential for changing such a belief pattern and the possible implications for the use of the Attributional Style Questionnaire with populations other than those who are depressed.

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