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Cited by 17Decision-Making and Behavioral EconomicsSchizophrenia research and treatmentNeural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

Reviewing explore/exploit decision-making as a transdiagnostic target for psychosis, depression, and anxiety

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Lloyd, Alex, Roiser, Jonathan P., Skeen, Sarah, Freeman, Ze, Badalova, Aygun, Agunbiade, Adeola, Busakhwe, Chuma, DeFlorio, Carla +6 more·2024·Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience
DOI 10.3758/s13415-024-01186-9PMC PMC11390819
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Abstract

In many everyday decisions, individuals choose between trialling something novel or something they know well. Deciding when to try a new option or stick with an option that is already known to you, known as the “explore/exploit” dilemma, is an important feature of cognition that characterises a range of decision-making contexts encountered by humans. Recent evidence has suggested preferences in explore/exploit biases are associated with psychopathology, although this has typically been examined within individual disorders. The current review examined whether explore/exploit decision-making represents a promising transdiagnostic target for psychosis, depression, and anxiety. A systematic search of academic databases was conducted, yielding a total of 29 studies. Studies examining psychosis were mostly consistent in showing that individuals with psychosis explored more compared with individuals without psychosis. The literature on anxiety and depression was more heterogenous; some studies found that anxiety and depression were associated with more exploration, whereas other studies demonstrated reduced exploration in anxiety and depression. However, examining a subset of studies that employed case-control methods, there was some evidence that both anxiety and depression also were associated with increased exploration. Due to the heterogeneity across the literature, we suggest that there is insufficient evidence to conclude whether explore/exploit decision-making is a transdiagnostic target for psychosis, depression, and anxiety. However, alongside our advisory groups of lived experience advisors, we suggest that this context of decision-making is a promising candidate that merits further investigation using well-powered, longitudinal designs. Such work also should examine whether biases in explore/exploit choices are amenable to intervention.

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  • In depressive disorders, the shift toward exploration is fueled by reduced motivation for immediate reward.

    “при депрессивных расстройствах -сниженной мотивацией к непосредственному получению награды”

    From Когнитивные механизмы дисфункционального принятия решений при психических расстройствах (2025) · cites this paper as Lloyd et al., 2024

    The Results (Depression; page unavailable) report that six of ten studies comparing people with clinical depression with healthy controls found greater exploration. The Discussion (page unavailable) proposes reduced reward sensitivity as a possible explanation, but distinguishes it from reduced motivation and does not establish that reduced motivation for immediate reward drives the shift. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • In psychotic disorders, the shift toward exploration is fueled by illusory overestimation of environmental volatility.

    “при психотических расстройствах оно подпитывается иллюзорной переоценкой потенциальной изменчивости окружающей среды”

    From Когнитивные механизмы дисфункционального принятия решений при психических расстройствах (2025) · cites this paper as Lloyd et al., 2024

    The Introduction associates psychosis with perceiving surroundings as volatile and proposes that this bias may lead to greater exploration. The Results report moderate–strong evidence for greater exploration in psychosis. However, the paper presents volatility overestimation as a possible explanation, not an established cause of the shift. (LLM, conf=0.87)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • In anxiety disorders, the shift toward exploration is fueled by the desire to eliminate uncertainty about untested options.

    “при тревожных расстройствах -стремлением избавиться от неопределенности в отношении непроверенных опций”

    From Когнитивные механизмы дисфункционального принятия решений при психических расстройствах (2025) · cites this paper as Lloyd et al., 2024

    The Results (Anxiety) say that, in n-armed bandit tasks, exploration by people with anxiety appeared to be a strategy for reducing uncertainty. But the review found greater exploration in only three of six studies; the other three found less exploration. The claim presents this task-dependent explanation as a general account of anxiety disorders. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • A shift of balance toward exploration over exploitation has been described in patients with various psychopathologies.

    “Смещение баланса в сторону преобладания исследования над использованием знаний было описано у пациентов с различной психопатологией.”

    From Когнитивные механизмы дисфункционального принятия решений при психических расстройствах (2025) · cites this paper as Lloyd et al., 2024

  • In ADHD, the shift toward exploration is fueled by novelty seeking.

    “при синдроме гиперактивности с дефицитом внимания -поиском новизны (Lloyd et al., 2024).”

    From Когнитивные механизмы дисфункционального принятия решений при психических расстройствах (2025) · cites this paper as Lloyd et al., 2024

    The Introduction describes exploration as choosing a novel option, but does not link novelty seeking to ADHD. The Results > Summary of studies mentions ADHD only as an eligible condition in one study; it reports no ADHD-specific exploration finding. Searches for ADHD and novelty seeking found no passage supporting the claimed explanation. (LLM, conf=0.76)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Lloyd, A., Roiser, J. P., Skeen, S., Freeman, Z., Badalova, A., Agunbiade, A., Busakhwe, C., DeFlorio, C., Marcu, A., Pirie, H., Saleh, R., Snyder, T., Fearon, P., & Viding, E.
Affiliations
  • University College London (GB)
  • Stellenbosch University (ZA)
  • King's College London (GB)
  • UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology (GB)
  • University of Cambridge (GB)
Corresponding author
Lloyd, Alex
ORCID
Venue
Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2024-04-23
Volume
24
Issue
5
Pages
793-815
ISSN
  • 1530-7026 (ISSN-L)
  • 1531-135X
DOI
10.3758/s13415-024-01186-9
PMC
PMC11390819
OpenAlex
W4395028880
Cited by
17
References
11
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 2
FWCI
1.14
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Cognitive Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Apollo (University of Cambridge) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • SUNScholar (Stellenbosch University) (submittedVersion)
  • PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • Wellcome Trust
  • Medical Research Council (MR/T040246/1)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › General Decision Sciences › Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
Keywords
exploration bias, psychosis, depression, anxiety, decision bias, psychopathology
MeSH terms
Anxiety, Decision Making, Depression, Humans, Psychotic Disorders

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