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Related Concept Videos

Cognitive Learning01:21

Cognitive Learning

Cognitive learning is based on purposive behavior, incidental learning, and insight learning.
E. C. Tolman's theory of purposive behavior emphasizes that much behavior is goal-directed. He argued that to understand behavior, we must look at the entire sequence of actions leading to a goal. For instance, high school students study hard, not just due to past reinforcement but also to achieve the goal of getting into a good college.
Tolman introduced the idea that behavior is influenced by...
Law of Effect01:06

Law of Effect

B.F. Skinner, a prominent figure in behavioral psychology, introduced operant conditioning by emphasizing the role of consequences in shaping behavior. This theory builds upon the law of effect proposed by Edward Thorndike, which posits that behaviors followed by satisfying outcomes are likely to be repeated. In contrast, those followed by unsatisfying outcomes are less likely to recur.
Edward Thorndike's foundational work involved studying learning in animals, particularly using puzzle boxes...
Reason and Intuition01:37

Reason and Intuition

The human brain processes information for decision-making using one of two routes: an intuitive system and a rational system (Epstein, 1994; popularized by Kahneman, 2011 as System 1 and System 2, respectively). The intuitive system is quick, impulsive, and operates with minimal effort, relying on emotions or habits to provide cues for what to do next, while the rational system is logical, analytical, deliberate, and methodical. Research in neuropsychology suggests that the brain can only use...
Behaviorism01:28

Behaviorism

The field of behaviorism was pioneered by figures such as Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, and B.F. Skinner fundamentally shifted the focus of psychology to the observable and controllable aspects of human and animal behavior. This shift marked a critical evolution in the discipline, emphasizing scientific rigor and experimental methodology.
The core premise of behaviorism is its focus on observable behavior rather than internal thoughts or feelings. This approach argues that true scientific...
Reinforcement01:23

Reinforcement

Positive and negative reinforcement are key concepts in operant conditioning, a learning process where the consequences of a behavior affect the likelihood of that behavior being repeated.
Positive reinforcement occurs when a behavior is followed by the presentation of a rewarding stimulus, increasing the frequency of that behavior. For example:
Timing and Consequences on Behavior01:08

Timing and Consequences on Behavior

In operant conditioning, the timing of reinforcement is crucial. For animals like rats and cats, immediate reinforcement (within a few seconds) is much more effective than delayed reinforcement. For example, a food reward for a rat needs to follow within 30 seconds of pressing a bar to be effective. 
Humans, however, can respond to delayed reinforcers. We often make decisions between immediate small rewards and delayed larger rewards. This ability to delay gratification is a significant factor...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Operant Protocols for Assessing the Cost-benefit Analysis During Reinforced Decision Making by Rodents
07:05

Operant Protocols for Assessing the Cost-benefit Analysis During Reinforced Decision Making by Rodents

Published on: September 10, 2018

Decision theory, reinforcement learning, and the brain.

Peter Dayan1, Nathaniel D Daw

  • 1University College London, London, England. dayan@gatsby.ucl.ac.uk

Cognitive, Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience
|November 27, 2008
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This review explores the Bayesian approach to decision making, unifying diverse problems in animal and human behavior. It covers computational and algorithmic aspects, including neural implementations for optimal choices.

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Area of Science:

  • Decision-making science
  • Computational neuroscience
  • Behavioral economics

Background:

  • Decision making is crucial for survival in complex environments.
  • Decision-theoretic concepts are widely used in ethology, psychology, and neuroscience.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review a coherent Bayesian approach to decision making.
  • To unify various decision-making problems under a single framework.
  • To discuss psychological and neural examples of decision-making processes.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on Bayesian decision making.
  • Discussion of computational and algorithmic aspects.
  • Examination of psychological and neural implementations.

Main Results:

  • The Bayesian approach unifies Markovian decision problems, signal detection, sequential sampling, and optimal exploration.
  • Discussion of computational challenges related to subject knowledge and ambition.
  • Exploration of model-based and model-free decision-making algorithms.

Conclusions:

  • The Bayesian framework provides a unified perspective on decision making.
  • Understanding computational and algorithmic aspects is key to neural implementation.
  • This approach offers insights into how animals and humans make optimal choices.