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Cited by 65Memory and Neural MechanismsNeural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

Unexpected food outcomes can return a habit to goal-directed action

Open access
Bouton, Mark E., Broomer, Matthew C., Rey, Catalina N., Thrailkill, Eric A.·2020·Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
DOI 10.1016/j.nlm.2020.107163PMC PMC7060822
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Abstract

Three experiments examined the return of a habitual instrumental response to the status of goal-directed action. In all experiments, rats received extensive training in which lever pressing was reinforced with food pellets on a random-interval schedule of reinforcement. In Experiment 1, the extensively-trained response was not affected by conditioning a taste aversion to the reinforcer, and was therefore considered a habit. However, if the response had earned a new and unexpected food pellet during the final training session, the response was affected by taste aversion conditioning to the (first) reinforcer, and had thus been converted to a goal-directed action. In Experiment 3, 30 min of prefeeding with an irrelevant food pellet immediately before the test also converted a habit back to action, as judged by the taste-aversion devaluation method. That result was consistent with difficulty in finding evidence of habit with the sensory-specific satiety method after extensive instrumental training (Experiment 2). The results suggest that an instrumental behavior's status as a habit is not permanent, and that a habit can be returned to action status by associating it with a surprising reinforcer (Experiment 1) or by giving the animal an unexpected prefeeding immediately prior to the action/habit test (Experiment 3).

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  • In both experiments, the behavior's status as a habit was not permanent; it could readily switch back to a goal-directed action again.

    “In both of these experiments, the behavior’s status as a habit was not permanent; it could readily switch back to a goal-directed action again.”

    From Context, attention, and the switch between habit and goal-direction in behavior (2021) · cites this paper as Bouton et al., 2020

  • After an unexpected change in reinforcer type, the lever-press response was affected by devaluation, suggesting it had returned to action status.

    “But after an unexpected change in reinforcer type, the lever-press response was affected by devaluation, suggesting that it had returned to action status.”

    From Context, attention, and the switch between habit and goal-direction in behavior (2021) · cites this paper as Bouton et al., 2020

  • An unexpected 30-min pre-feeding with an irrelevant food pellet just before the test converted the habit evident in controls back to a goal-directed action that was depressed by the devalued reinforcer.

    “But experimental subjects received an unexpected 30-min pre-feeding with an irrelevant food pellet in the home cage just before the test. As can be seen, this treatment converted the habit evident in the controls back to a goal-directed action that was depressed by the devalued reinforcer.”

    From Context, attention, and the switch between habit and goal-direction in behavior (2021) · cites this paper as Bouton et al., 2020, Experiment 3

  • On the attention-modulation account, the switch back to R-O after unexpected reinforcers or context change would be created by merely increasing attention to R and the consequent associative retrieval of O.

    “On this account, the switch back to R-O after unexpected reinforcers or context change (Bouton et al., 2020; Steinfeld & Bouton, 2021; Trask et al., 2020) would be created by merely increasing attention to R (and the consequent associative retrieval of O).”

    From Context, attention, and the switch between habit and goal-direction in behavior (2021) · cites this paper as Bouton et al., 2020

  • Surprising reinforcers may provide a form of context change to activate action after habit learning.

    “To explain why the presentation of surprising reinforcers also seems to activate action after habit learning (Bouton et al., 2020; Trask et al., 2020), we could thus note that they may provide a form of context change (e.g., Bouton et al., 2021b).”

    From Context, attention, and the switch between habit and goal-direction in behavior (2021) · cites this paper as Bouton et al., 2020

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. Dickinson A (1994). Instrumental conditioning In Mackintosh NJ (Ed.) Animal learning and cognition: Handbook of perception and cognition series (2nd Ed., pp. 45– 79). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

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Authors
Bouton, M. E., Broomer, M. C., Rey, C. N., & Thrailkill, E. A.
Affiliations
University of Vermont (US)
Corresponding author
Bouton, Mark E.
ORCID
Venue
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2020-03
Volume
169
Pages
107163
ISSN
1074-7427 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.nlm.2020.107163
PMC
PMC7060822
OpenAlex
W3000399799
Cited by
65
References
45
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 32 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 1
FWCI
3.89
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Neurobiology of Learning and Memory (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Institutes of Health
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
Keywords
habit, goal-directed action, instrumental behavior, taste aversion, prefeeding, sensory-specific satiety, rats
MeSH terms
Animals, Behavior, Animal, Conditioning, Operant, Extinction, Psychological, Female, Goals, Habits, Reinforcement, Psychology, Rats, Wistar

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