Reinforcement learning modulates the stability of cognitive control settings for object selection.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive psychology
• Neuroscience
• Behavioral economics

Background:

• Cognitive flexibility is a key cognitive trait and state.
• Individual differences in cognitive flexibility are well-established.
• The impact of reward learning on cognitive flexibility is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if reinforcing strategy shifts influences cognitive flexibility.
• To determine if reward learning can induce persistent changes in cognitive flexibility.
• To examine the relationship between reward contingency learning and strategy switching.

Main Methods:

• Participants completed two choice tasks involving object selection for rewards.
• A training phase involved consistent or inconsistent reward contingencies based on color.
• A test phase used spatial location-based reward contingencies with constant probabilities.

Main Results:

• Participants trained with inconsistent contingencies showed more variable selections in the test phase.
• The training group with inconsistent contingencies exhibited a higher likelihood to switch strategies.
• Consistent training led to less switching after unrewarded trials and more repetition after rewards.

Conclusions:

• Reinforcement of priority shifting modulates cognitive control settings persistently.
• Individuals can become generally more or less prone to shifting priorities based on training.
• Reward learning plays a significant role in shaping long-term cognitive flexibility.