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Published on: April 19, 2017
The persistent impact of incidental experience
Matthew H Wilder1, Matt Jones, Alaa A Ahmed
1Department of Computer Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA, wildermh@colorado.edu.
Past experiences, even from distant trials, significantly influence current behavior, challenging traditional psychological views. This suggests a long-term memory system optimizes future actions by cataloging incidental events.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Routine actions often appear automatic, yet are modulated by recent experiences.
- Traditional psychological theories consider sequential effects as short-lived perturbations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the long-term impact of past experiences on current behavior.
- To challenge the view that sequential effects in behavior are transient.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments were conducted to assess the influence of distant past trials on action choice.
- A normative theory was developed to explain persistent sequential effects.
Main Results:
- Evidence found for behavioral effects spanning up to a thousand intermediate trials.
- Observed persistent effects align with a heavy-tailed decaying influence of past experience.
Conclusions:
- Past incidental experiences are cataloged in a temporally extended memory.
- This memory system is utilized to optimize subsequent behavior in dynamic environments.
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