Proselfs depend more on model-based than model-free learning in a non-social probabilistic state-transition task

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Social Psychology
• Behavioral Economics

Background:

• Social decision-making involves balancing self-interest (proself) and concern for others (prosocial).
• Individual differences in social value orientation are not fully explained.
• Dual-process theories propose domain-general learning systems (model-free and model-based) underlie social decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test the hypothesis that social preferences stem from the dominance of either model-free or model-based learning systems.
• To investigate the relationship between individual learning system dominance and social value orientation.

Main Methods:

• A non-social state transition task was employed to assess the balance between model-free and model-based learning.
• Participants' social value orientations were measured.
• Analyses of reward amount and reaction time were conducted.

Main Results:

• Proself individuals showed a greater dependence on model-based learning.
• Prosocial individuals demonstrated a stronger reliance on model-free learning.
• Proself individuals learned the task structure earlier than prosocial individuals.

Conclusions:

• Findings support the "learning hypothesis" explaining differences in social preferences.
• Dominant learning systems (model-based vs. model-free) are associated with distinct social value orientations.
• This research offers insights into the mechanisms underlying prosocial behavior.