Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 11, 2026
08:05
Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques
Published on: June 30, 2020
Adult age differences in learning from positive and negative probabilistic feedback
Jessica R Simon1, James H Howard, Darlene V Howard
1Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA. jrs92@georgetown.edu
Neuropsychology
|July 8, 2010
Summary
Older adults learn equally from positive and negative feedback, unlike younger adults who favor positive feedback. This suggests age-related changes in striatal dopamine impact learning strategies.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Aging Research
Background:
- Previous research explored age differences in frontal-based decision-making.
- Limited studies examined striatal-based changes in healthy aging.
- Striatal dopamine levels influence feedback learning: higher dopamine aids positive feedback learning, lower dopamine aids negative feedback learning.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate behavioral differences in feedback learning between college-aged and healthy older adults.
- Examine the impact of striatal dopamine depletion in aging on learning.
- Utilize a feedback learning task sensitive to frontal and striatal processes.
Main Methods:
- Recruited 17 college-aged (mean=18.9 years) and 24 healthy older adults (mean=70.3 years).
- Administered the Probabilistic Selection task.
- Trained participants on stimulus-outcome contingencies and assessed learning from positive vs. negative feedback.
Main Results:
- Older adults learned equally from positive and negative feedback.
- College-aged adults learned more from positive than negative feedback (F(1, 39) = 4.10, p < .05).
- Age differences were not solely due to balanced learners; younger adults showed a positive bias, while older adults split between positive and negative biases (chi(2)(2) = 6.12, p < .047).
Conclusions:
- Behavioral findings align with the dopamine theory of striatal aging.
- Suggests age-related differences in information utilization for decision-making.
- Highlights potential shifts in learning biases with age.
Related Concept Videos
01:18Negative and Positive Feedback
Animal organs and organ systems constantly adjust to internal and external changes through a process called homeostasis ("steady state"). Examples of these changes include regulation of the level of glucose or calcium in the blood or internal responses to external temperatures. Homeostasis requires maintaining an internal dynamic equilibrium:
01:14Avoidance Learning and Learned Helplessness
Avoidance learning and learned helplessness are critical concepts in understanding behavioral responses to negative stimuli.
Avoidance learning occurs when an organism learns that a specific behavior can prevent an unpleasant outcome. For example, a student who receives a bad grade may start studying harder to avoid future poor grades. This behavior persists even when the negative outcome is no longer present. Avoidance learning is powerful because it maintains behavior in the absence of the...
Avoidance learning occurs when an organism learns that a specific behavior can prevent an unpleasant outcome. For example, a student who receives a bad grade may start studying harder to avoid future poor grades. This behavior persists even when the negative outcome is no longer present. Avoidance learning is powerful because it maintains behavior in the absence of the...
01:23Reinforcement
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:
Positive reinforcement occurs when a behavior is followed by the presentation of a rewarding stimulus, increasing the frequency of that behavior. For example:
01:24Effects of feedback
Feedback in control systems plays a critical role in shaping various operational parameters, extending beyond simple error reduction to influence stability, bandwidth, gain, impedance, and sensitivity. Understanding these effects requires examining a basic feedback system characterized by defined input, output, error, and feedback signals.
Feedback significantly modifies the gain of a control system. The gain of a system without feedback is altered by a factor of one plus GH, where G represents...
Feedback significantly modifies the gain of a control system. The gain of a system without feedback is altered by a factor of one plus GH, where G represents...
02:55Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination
Humans are very diverse and although we share many similarities, we also have many differences. The social groups we belong to help form our identities (Tajfel, 1974). These differences may be difficult for some people to reconcile, which may lead to prejudice toward people who are different. Prejudice is a negative attitude and feeling toward an individual based solely on one’s membership in a particular social group (Allport, 1954; Brown, 2010). Prejudice is common against people who are...
01:21Cognitive 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...
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...