L2: Role of Habits & Impaired Cognitive Control Flashcards
Define habit
instrumental responses triggered by stimuli, and that dont depend on the current moitvation for the outcome of the behaviour
What is the difference between goal directed action & habit?
only goal directed actions are mediated by knowledge of the R -> O relationship & an evaluation of the anticipated outcome in light of one’s current motivation
habits are mediated by S-R links, so they are “behaviourally autonomous” of the current desirability of the coutcome
What is considered the adaptive value of a habit?
they can be executed fast & in an efficient manner so this helps us free cognitive resources, allowing us to attend to other important matters
What ist he 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
aka habits are contextually dependent
Why are the results showing that behavioural repetition makes it more automatic (so less autonomic) questionable?
issues w how we interpret these findings:
- might mix up repetitive behaviour w trying to achieve a goal, so not all repetitive behaviour is related to a lack of control (ex: if someone keeps snacking repetitively despite wanting to stop, we might think its cause they lost autonomy, or control, over their actions. but there could be other reasons: maybe they just really love these snacks)
- when ppl report their habits in diaries, it might not always be accurate cause thye might not realize they’re doing something out of habit
How can we study whether an action is goal directed or habitual?
outcome revaluation test
When is drug-seeking behaviour called goal-directed?
when its based on an expectation (cognitive criterion) and positive (hyper)evaluation (motivational criterion) of the drug
What does the habitual drug seeking account say?
that drug seeking initally starts out as goal-directed but becomes increasingly driven by aberrantly strong habits
Defnine goal directed action
instrumental behaviours only performed with the belief that they will achieve a specific goal or avoid an undesirable outcome
Define instrumental behaviour
learned as a consequence of a causal relationship between R and O, as opposed to being controlled purely by predictive Pavlovian relationships between S and R
What is meant by the belief & desire criterions of goal directed behaviour?
goal directed actions are:
- mediated by knowledge of the causal relationship between action (response) & outcome (belief criterion)
- executed only when the outcome is currently desirable (desire criterion)
ex: buying popcorn is a goal directed action when one currently desires the taste of popcorn and believes that the act of buying it is a necessary step to achieve this
How are habits formed according to the “Law of Effect”
when a behaviour is followed by reward (positive reinforcement) or absence of an expected negative event (negative reinforcement). the reward (or relief) reinforces a stimulus-response (S-R) association between environmental stimuli & behaviour but occurence of aversive outcome (or cancellation of an anticipated reward) weakens the S-R relationship
aka if the stimulus is encountered, it can immediately trigger the old behaviour, even when one isnt currently particularly motivated toward the ouctome
What are the 3 central ideas of habit theory of addiction?
- there are individual differences in the tendency to form dominant habits, and with a strong tendency, the person in question is vulnerable to developing an addiction (or other compulsive behavior)
- drugs are extremely strong reinforcers of S-R habits
- drugs lead to structural changes in the brain, that lead to a generally stronger tendency to rely on habitual control.
What is the “outcome devaluation” paradigm and how can it be used to research targeted/automatic control?
a pardigm used to determine whether a certain behaviour is goal directed or habitual
consists of 3 phases:
1: instrumental learning phase (animal trained to press a lever to obtain food in a skinner box so association between action (lever pressing) and outcome (receiving food) is established)
2: outcome devaluation phase (animal removed from skinnerbox, and allowed to consume the food to point of satiation, this way, the outcome is “devalued”)
3: critical test phase: animal returned to the skinnerbox & has opportunity to press lever again. if behaviour is goal-directed, animal should adjust their behaviour based on the devalued outcome (aka animal was previously motivated by hunger to press the lever for food but are now satiated and food has been devalued, they should reduce their lever pressing). but if behaviour has become habitual, animal may continue to perform the action despite the devalued uotcome since action has become automatic & triggered by environmental cues rather thane expected reward
what did outcome revaluation studies show in animals?
when rats were put back in the box after one of the foods had been devalued (by pairing it w a bad tasting medicine), they pressed the lever less (goal directed action)
but after “overtraining”, or a long period of lever pressing prior to the devaluation of the food, the rats kept pressing the lever regardless of whether they liked the outcome (habit)
How do outcome revaluation studies work in humans? & results
- one study: partipants had to choose between icons on screen, where each icon was associated w different probability of getting a specific drink (orange juice or chocolate milk). then they were given as much of one drink as they wanted until satiation. afterwards asked to choose between drinks again: led to reduced responding for that outcome
- instructed devaluation: participants explicity informed that certain outcome is devalued cause it no longer earns them points, but kept pressing the keys that led to those outcomes sometimes (showed that action became more automatic & less influence by current value of outcome, this is called “slips of action” or habit intrusions)
- popcorn test showed that habits are closely tied to specific situation
- other tests showed that after extensive repetition,, behavioural autonomy decreases
How does substance abuse arise according to dual-process theories & habit account say?
S_R associations that have been reinforced (according to law of effect), can gradually become dominant after many repettitions, shifting the balance from flexible, goal-directed control towards efficient S-R habits (brain forms strong connections between drug use & rewards, shown by habit brain areas becoming more active as addiction progresses)
substance abuse is result of the 2 processes being disrupted
1. reinforced automatic/reflexive/impulsive bottom-up processes (like pavlovian conditioning & formation of instrumental habits) by drug
2. weakened top-down cognitive/reflexive/executive functions, in other words: impaired cognitive control can lead to a fall back on habits (cause of drugs neurotoxic effects on prefrontal cortex in particular)
