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Related Concept Videos

Confirmation Biases

Confirmation Biases

The confirmation bias is the tendency to focus on information that confirms our existing beliefs and ignore information that is inconsistent with our expectations. For example, if you think that your professor is not very nice, you notice all of the instances of rude behavior exhibited by the professor while ignoring the countless pleasant interactions he is involved in on a daily basis. Have you ever fallen prey to the confirmation bias, either as the source or target of such bias?

Reinforcement

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:

Purposive Learning

Purposive Learning

E. C. Tolman emphasized the purposiveness of behavior — the idea that much of our behavior is goal-directed. For instance, employees who aim for a promotion work diligently to meet their targets. Tolman argued that when classical conditioning and operant conditioning occur, the organism acquires certain expectations. In classical conditioning, a child might fear a dog because they expect it to bite. In operant conditioning, a person might consistently work overtime because they expect a bonus...

Hindsight Biases

Hindsight Biases

Hindsight bias leads you to believe that the event you just experienced was predictable, even though it really wasn’t. In other words, you knew all along that things would turn out the way they did. Can you relate this to the phrase "Hindsight is 20/20" now?

Reinforcement Schedules

Reinforcement Schedules

Positive reinforcement is a powerful method for teaching new behaviors to both animals and humans. B.F. Skinner demonstrated this with his experiments using rats in a Skinner box. When a rat pressed a lever, it received a food pellet. This immediate reward encouraged the rat to repeat the behavior. This method, where a reward follows every instance of the behavior, is known as continuous reinforcement. It is highly effective for establishing new behaviors quickly.
Once a behavior is learned,...

Generalization, Discrimination, and Extinction

Generalization, Discrimination, and Extinction

Generalization, discrimination, and extinction are key concepts in operant conditioning that influence how behaviors are learned and maintained.
Generalization occurs when a behavior reinforced in one context is performed in similar situations. For instance, a student who studies diligently for calculus and receives excellent grades might apply the same study habits to psychology and history, expecting similar results. Generalization shows how learning in one setting can influence behavior in...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Measuring the Subjective Value of Risky and Ambiguous Options using Experimental Economics and Functional MRI Methods

Measuring the Subjective Value of Risky and Ambiguous Options using Experimental Economics and Functional MRI Methods

Published on: September 19, 2012

Ambiguity and confirmatory reward learning.

Hayley M Dorfman¹, Rahul Bhui²

¹Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 52 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States of America.

|June 3, 2026

Summary

People interpret feedback to confirm existing beliefs, a tendency that aids reward learning under ambiguity. This confirmatory inference, linked to optimism, shapes how we learn from uncertain outcomes.

Keywords:

Ambiguity Bayesian inference Confirmation bias Optimism Reinforcement learning Reward

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Last Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Measuring the Subjective Value of Risky and Ambiguous Options using Experimental Economics and Functional MRI Methods

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Science
Neuroscience
Behavioral Economics

Background:

Confirmatory tendencies are often seen as cognitive biases.
These tendencies may have adaptive functions in decision-making.
Understanding how beliefs influence learning from ambiguous feedback is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how confirmatory inference shapes reward learning when outcomes have ambiguous valence.
To propose and test a novel experimental paradigm and Bayesian computational model for this process.
To explore the link between confirmatory reward learning and dispositional traits like optimism.

Main Methods:

Developed a novel experimental paradigm involving a reward learning task with ambiguous outcome valence.
Utilized a Bayesian computational model to analyze behavioral data and stated beliefs.
Compared the Bayesian model's explanatory power against alternative reinforcement learning models.

Main Results:

The Bayesian model accurately explained the dynamics of behavior and stated beliefs.
Confirmatory inference was shown to shape reward learning under ambiguity.
Stated beliefs about outcome positivity correlated with individual optimism.

Conclusions:

Confirmatory reward learning arises from inference under conditions of ambiguity.
This cognitive process may be adaptive and linked to dispositional optimism.
The findings offer new insights into belief updating and decision-making under uncertainty.