1
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Sazhin D, Dachs A, Smith DV. Meta-Analysis Reveals That Explore-Exploit Decisions are Dissociable by Activation in the Dorsal Lateral Prefrontal Cortex and the Anterior Cingulate Cortex. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.10.21.563317. [PMID: 37961286 PMCID: PMC10634720 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.21.563317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
Explore-exploit research has challenges in generalizability due to a limited theoretical basis of exploration and exploitation. Neuroimaging can help identify whether explore-exploit decisions use an opponent processing system to address this issue. Thus, we conducted a coordinate-based meta-analysis (N=23 studies) where we found activation in the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex during exploration versus exploitation, providing some evidence for opponent processing. However, the conjunction of explore-exploit decisions was associated with activation in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, dorsal medial prefrontal cortex, and anterior insula, suggesting that these brain regions do not engage in opponent processing. Further, exploratory analyses revealed heterogeneity in brain responses between task types during exploration and exploitation respectively. Coupled with results suggesting that activation in exploration and exploitation decisions is generally more similar than it is different suggests there remain significant challenges toward characterizing explore-exploit decision making. Nonetheless, dlPFC and ACC activation differentiate explore and exploit decisions and identifying these responses can help in targeted interventions aimed at manipulating these decisions.
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2
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Giron AP, Ciranka S, Schulz E, van den Bos W, Ruggeri A, Meder B, Wu CM. Developmental changes in exploration resemble stochastic optimization. Nat Hum Behav 2023; 7:1955-1967. [PMID: 37591981 PMCID: PMC10663152 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01662-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 08/19/2023]
Abstract
Human development is often described as a 'cooling off' process, analogous to stochastic optimization algorithms that implement a gradual reduction in randomness over time. Yet there is ambiguity in how to interpret this analogy, due to a lack of concrete empirical comparisons. Using data from n = 281 participants ages 5 to 55, we show that cooling off does not only apply to the single dimension of randomness. Rather, human development resembles an optimization process of multiple learning parameters, for example, reward generalization, uncertainty-directed exploration and random temperature. Rapid changes in parameters occur during childhood, but these changes plateau and converge to efficient values in adulthood. We show that while the developmental trajectory of human parameters is strikingly similar to several stochastic optimization algorithms, there are important differences in convergence. None of the optimization algorithms tested were able to discover reliably better regions of the strategy space than adult participants on this task.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna P Giron
- Human and Machine Cognition Lab, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Attention and Affect Lab, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Simon Ciranka
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
- Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Eric Schulz
- MPRG Computational Principles of Intelligence, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Wouter van den Bos
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Azzurra Ruggeri
- MPRG iSearch, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
- School of Social Sciences and Technology, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany
- Central European University, Vienna, Austria
| | - Björn Meder
- MPRG iSearch, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
- Institute for Mind, Brain and Behavior, Health and Medical University, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Charley M Wu
- Human and Machine Cognition Lab, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.
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3
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Grilli MD, Sheldon S. Autobiographical event memory and aging: older adults get the gist. Trends Cogn Sci 2022; 26:1079-1089. [PMID: 36195539 PMCID: PMC9669242 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2022.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2022] [Revised: 08/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
We propose that older adults' ability to retrieve episodic autobiographical events, although often viewed through a lens of decline, reveals much about what is preserved and prioritized in cognitive aging. Central to our proposal is the idea that the so-called gist of an autobiographical event is not only spared with normal aging but also well adapted to serve memory-guided behavior in older age. To support our proposal, we review cognitive and brain evidence indicating an age-related shift toward gist memory. We then discuss why this shift likely arises from more than age-related decline and instead partly reflects a natural, arguably adaptive, outcome of experience, motivation, and mode-of-thinking factors. Our proposal reveals an upside of age-related memory changes and identifies important research questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew D Grilli
- Department of Psychology, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
| | - Signy Sheldon
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 1G1, Canada.
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4
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Amer T, Wynn JS, Hasher L. Cluttered memory representations shape cognition in old age. Trends Cogn Sci 2022; 26:255-267. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2021.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2021] [Revised: 12/06/2021] [Accepted: 12/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
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5
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Spreng RN, Turner GR. From exploration to exploitation: a shifting mental mode in late life development. Trends Cogn Sci 2021; 25:1058-1071. [PMID: 34593321 PMCID: PMC8844884 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2021.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2021] [Revised: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 09/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Changes in cognition, affect, and brain function combine to promote a shift in the nature of mentation in older adulthood, favoring exploitation of prior knowledge over exploratory search as the starting point for thought and action. Age-related exploitation biases result from the accumulation of prior knowledge, reduced cognitive control, and a shift toward affective goals. These are accompanied by changes in cortical networks, as well as attention and reward circuits. By incorporating these factors into a unified account, the exploration-to-exploitation shift offers an integrative model of cognitive, affective, and brain aging. Here, we review evidence for this model, identify determinants and consequences, and survey the challenges and opportunities posed by an exploitation-biased mental mode in later life.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Nathan Spreng
- Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, Montreal Neurological Institute, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada; McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada; Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 0G4, Canada.
| | - Gary R Turner
- Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada
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6
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Liu H, Li J, Li H, Li H, Mao P, Yuan J. Risk Perception and Coping Behavior of Construction Workers on Occupational Health Risks-A Case Study of Nanjing, China. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:ijerph18137040. [PMID: 34280977 PMCID: PMC8297174 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18137040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2021] [Revised: 05/27/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
To reduce harm caused by occupational health risks of construction workers exposed to working environments, especially those for interior decoration, it is crucial for them to actively recognize and prevent these risks. Therefore, how to improve their occupational health risks perception and regulate their coping behaviors should be of great concern. However, most prior studies target construction worker safety, and little research focuses on risk analysis from the psychological level of workers. Hence, construction workers' occupational health risk perception level and coping behavior level in Nanjing and the influencing factors were analyzed through statistical analysis with 341 valid questionnaires. Bootstrapping was applied to test the mediating effects of risk perception on the proposed factors and coping behaviors. This study revealed that construction workers have a high-level of occupational health risk perception, yet low-level coping behavior. Gender, age, education level, and unit qualification cause differences in individual risk perception level. Personal knowledge and group effects significantly affect the level of risk perception, which subsequently affect coping behavior. Education level, monthly income, and personal knowledge influence the coping behavior through risk perception. Recommendations were put forward for risk perception and coping behavior improvement from the perspectives of construction workers themselves, enterprises, and governments. This study sheds new light for research areas of occupational health and risk management and provides beneficial practice for improving construction workers' responses to occupational health risks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Liu
- Department of Construction Management, College of Civil Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China;
| | - Jie Li
- School of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China;
| | - Hongyang Li
- Business School, Hohai University, Nanjing 211100, China;
- School of Civil Engineering and Transportation, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China
- State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building Science, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China
| | - He Li
- College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China;
| | - Peng Mao
- Department of Construction Management, College of Civil Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +86-138-0517-1820
| | - Jingfeng Yuan
- Department of Construction and Real Estate, School of Civil Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China;
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7
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Meder B, Wu CM, Schulz E, Ruggeri A. Development of directed and random exploration in children. Dev Sci 2021; 24:e13095. [PMID: 33539647 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2020] [Revised: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 01/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Are young children just random explorers who learn serendipitously? Or are even young children guided by uncertainty-directed sampling, seeking to explore in a systematic fashion? We study how children between the ages of 4 and 9 search in an explore-exploit task with spatially correlated rewards, where exhaustive exploration is infeasible and not all options can be experienced. By combining behavioral data with a computational model that decomposes search into similarity-based generalization, uncertainty-directed exploration, and random exploration, we map out developmental trajectories of generalization and exploration. The behavioral data show strong developmental differences in children's capability to exploit environmental structure, with performance and adaptiveness of sampling decisions increasing with age. Through model-based analyses, we disentangle different forms of exploration, finding signature of both uncertainty-directed and random exploration. The amount of random exploration strongly decreases as children get older, supporting the notion of a developmental "cooling off" process that modulates the randomness in sampling. However, even at the youngest age range, children do not solely rely on random exploration. Even as random exploration begins to taper off, children are actively seeking out options with high uncertainty in a goal-directed fashion, and using inductive inferences to generalize their experience to novel options. Our findings provide critical insights into the behavioral and computational principles underlying the developmental trajectory of learning and exploration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Björn Meder
- Health and Medical University Potsdam and Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Charley M Wu
- University of Tübingen and Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Eric Schulz
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tubingen, Germany
| | - Azzurra Ruggeri
- Max Planck Institute for Human Development and Technical University Munich, Berlin, Germany
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8
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Amer T, Giovanello KS, Nichol DR, Hasher L, Grady CL. Neural Correlates of Enhanced Memory for Meaningful Associations with Age. Cereb Cortex 2020; 29:4568-4579. [PMID: 30921462 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhy334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2018] [Revised: 10/25/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Evidence suggests that age differences in associative memory are attenuated for associations that are consistent with prior knowledge. Such knowledge structures have traditionally been associated with the default network (DN), which also shows reduced modulation with age. In the present study, we investigated whether DN activity and connectivity patterns could account for this age-related effect. Younger and older adults underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging as they learned realistic and unrealistic prices of common grocery items. Both groups showed greater activity in the DN during the encoding of realistic, relative to unrealistic, prices. Moreover, DN activity at encoding and retrieval and its connectivity with an attention control network at encoding were associated with enhanced memory for realistic prices. Finally, older adults showed overactivation of control regions during retrieval of realistic prices relative to younger adults. Our findings suggest that DN activity and connectivity patterns (traditionally viewed as indicators of cognitive failure with age), and additional recruitment of control regions, might underlie older adults' enhanced memory for meaningful associations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tarek Amer
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, USA.,Rotman Research Institute, Toronto, ON, USA.,Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Kelly S Giovanello
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.,Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | | | - Lynn Hasher
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, USA.,Rotman Research Institute, Toronto, ON, USA
| | - Cheryl L Grady
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, USA.,Rotman Research Institute, Toronto, ON, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, USA
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9
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Results of Beer Game Trials Played by Natural Resource Managers Versus Students: Does Age Influence Ordering Decisions? SYSTEMS 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/systems8040037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Systems involving agriculture and natural resources (AGNR) management and representing integrations of biologic, geologic, socio-economic, and climatic characteristics are incredibly complex. AGNR managers purport using a systems-oriented mental model while many observed management and policy strategies remain linear or symptom-driven. To improve AGNR professionals’ systems thinking abilities, two programs, the King Ranch® Institute for Ranch Management at Texas A&M University-Kingsville (KRIRM) and the Honors College at South Dakota State University (SDSUHC), implemented the famous Production Distribution Simulation Game (a.k.a. the Beer Game) into their programs beginning in 2003 and 2011. A Beer Game database consisting of 10 years of trials or over 270 individual players was compared to seminal work in the literature as well as to one another. We found that AGNR managers and students performed worse than players in a seminal Beer Game study. More interestingly, we found that younger players adapted more readily to inventory surpluses by reducing the order rates and effective inventories significantly when compared to older players (p < 0.10 for retailer and distributors, and p < 0.05 for wholesales and factories). We substantiated our results to those in more recent studies of age-related decision-making and in the context of common learning disabilities. Lastly, we discuss some implications of such decision-making on 21st century AGNR problems and encourage AGNR disciplines to better integrate system dynamics-based education and collaboration in order to better prepare for such complex issues.
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10
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Semantic diversity in paired-associate learning: Further evidence for the information accumulation perspective of cognitive aging. Psychon Bull Rev 2020; 27:114-121. [PMID: 31823297 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-019-01691-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Normal aging is often associated with a performance decline on various cognitive tests, including paired associate learning (PAL), where participants are asked to learn and recall arbitrary word pairs. While many studies have taken this as evidence to support the notion of age-related deficits in cognitive processing, Ramscar, Hendrix, Shaoul, Milin, and Baayen (Topics in Cognitive Science, 6(1), 5-42) and Ramscar, Sun, Hendrix, and Baayen (Psychological Science, 28(8), 1171-1179, 2017) posit that the decline in performance on various cognitive tasks can be explained by the accumulation of linguistic knowledge over time. To demonstrate this, Ramscar et al. (2017) found that older bilingual participants outperformed monolingual counterparts on a verbal PAL task, proposed to be due to bilinguals having accumulated less information about the words used in the study. However, comparing bilinguals to monolinguals introduces confounding factors. For example, bilingual's better performance may be due to superior executive functioning. To minimize these between-subject confounds, the current study used a within-subject design in order to examine the influence of linguistic experience on paired associate learning in younger and older adults. Linguistic experience was modeled using a semantic diversity measure of word strength (Jones, Johns, & Recchia, 2012). When frequency is controlled for, high semantic diversity words are associated to a greater number of words and have a higher average strength of association. In the current study, PAL performance of older adults was significantly lower for word pairs involving high semantic diversity words, while their performance did not differ for low semantic diversity words, consistent with the information accumulation perspective of aging.
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11
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Zakirov F, Krasilnikov A. Age-related differences in decision-making process in the context of healthy aging. BIO WEB OF CONFERENCES 2020. [DOI: 10.1051/bioconf/20202201022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
During aging cognitive functions change differently from others. Unlike most of the body systems, there is no clear decline pattern in cognitive processes. One of the most significant cognitive processes is decision-making, which defines social interactions, economical relationships, and risky behavior. Among factors influence decisionmaking process, individual lifelong experience is considered to be an important one. Obviously, older adults have more life experience, than the younger groups. However, the former often do not tend to rational choices and beneficial strategies. In this case it is important to assess how aging processes in brain contribute into searching for the most beneficial option during decision-making. On the basis of today’s studies about risky behavior, judgement of fairness, financial games, and modern neuroimaging data this review will observe and discuss age-related differences in decision-making. Thus, a correct cognitive profile of older adult in decision-making context can be determined.
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12
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Paterson KB, McGowan VA, Warrington KL, Li L, Li S, Xie F, Chang M, Zhao S, Pagán A, White SJ, Wang J. Effects of Normative Aging on Eye Movements during Reading. Vision (Basel) 2020; 4:vision4010007. [PMID: 31947552 PMCID: PMC7157620 DOI: 10.3390/vision4010007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2019] [Revised: 01/06/2020] [Accepted: 01/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Substantial progress has been made in understanding the mostly detrimental effects of normative aging on eye movements during reading. This article provides a review of research on aging effects on eye movements during reading for different writing systems (i.e., alphabetic systems like English compared to non-alphabetic systems like Chinese), focused on appraising the importance of visual and cognitive factors, considering key methodological issues, and identifying vital questions that need to be addressed and topics for further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin B. Paterson
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK; (V.A.M.); (K.L.W.); (A.P.); (S.J.W.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Victoria A. McGowan
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK; (V.A.M.); (K.L.W.); (A.P.); (S.J.W.)
| | - Kayleigh L. Warrington
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK; (V.A.M.); (K.L.W.); (A.P.); (S.J.W.)
| | - Lin Li
- Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China; (L.L.); (F.X.); (M.C.); (S.Z.); (J.W.)
| | - Sha Li
- School of Psychology, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350117, China;
| | - Fang Xie
- Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China; (L.L.); (F.X.); (M.C.); (S.Z.); (J.W.)
| | - Min Chang
- Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China; (L.L.); (F.X.); (M.C.); (S.Z.); (J.W.)
| | - Sainan Zhao
- Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China; (L.L.); (F.X.); (M.C.); (S.Z.); (J.W.)
| | - Ascensión Pagán
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK; (V.A.M.); (K.L.W.); (A.P.); (S.J.W.)
| | - Sarah J. White
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK; (V.A.M.); (K.L.W.); (A.P.); (S.J.W.)
| | - Jingxin Wang
- Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China; (L.L.); (F.X.); (M.C.); (S.Z.); (J.W.)
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13
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Schulz E, Wu CM, Ruggeri A, Meder B. Searching for Rewards Like a Child Means Less Generalization and More Directed Exploration. Psychol Sci 2019; 30:1561-1572. [PMID: 31652093 DOI: 10.1177/0956797619863663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
How do children and adults differ in their search for rewards? We considered three different hypotheses that attribute developmental differences to (a) children's increased random sampling, (b) more directed exploration toward uncertain options, or (c) narrower generalization. Using a search task in which noisy rewards were spatially correlated on a grid, we compared the ability of 55 younger children (ages 7 and 8 years), 55 older children (ages 9-11 years), and 50 adults (ages 19-55 years) to successfully generalize about unobserved outcomes and balance the exploration-exploitation dilemma. Our results show that children explore more eagerly than adults but obtain lower rewards. We built a predictive model of search to disentangle the unique contributions of the three hypotheses of developmental differences and found robust and recoverable parameter estimates indicating that children generalize less and rely on directed exploration more than adults. We did not, however, find reliable differences in terms of random sampling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Schulz
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University
| | - Charley M Wu
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Azzurra Ruggeri
- Max Planck Research Group iSearch, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.,School of Education, Technical University Munich
| | - Björn Meder
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.,Max Planck Research Group iSearch, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Psychology, University of Erfurt
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14
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Spreng RN, Turner GR. The Shifting Architecture of Cognition and Brain Function in Older Adulthood. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2019; 14:523-542. [PMID: 31013206 DOI: 10.1177/1745691619827511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 120] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive aging is often described in the context of loss or decline. Emerging research suggests that the story is more complex, with older adults showing both losses and gains in cognitive ability. With increasing age, declines in controlled, or fluid, cognition occur in the context of gains in crystallized knowledge of oneself and the world. This inversion in cognitive capacities, from greater reliance on fluid abilities in young adulthood to increasingly crystallized or semanticized cognition in older adulthood, has profound implications for cognitive and real-world functioning in later life. The shift in cognitive architecture parallels changes in the functional network architecture of the brain. Observations of greater functional connectivity between lateral prefrontal brain regions, implicated in cognitive control, and the default network, implicated in memory and semantic processing, led us to propose the default-executive coupling hypothesis of aging. In this review we provide evidence that these changes in the functional architecture of the brain serve as a neural mechanism underlying the shifting cognitive architecture from younger to older adulthood. We incorporate findings spanning cognitive aging and cognitive neuroscience to present an integrative model of cognitive and brain aging, describing its antecedents, determinants, and implications for real-world functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Nathan Spreng
- 1 Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University
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15
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Kircanski K, Notthoff N, DeLiema M, Samanez-Larkin GR, Shadel D, Mottola G, Carstensen LL, Gotlib IH. Emotional arousal may increase susceptibility to fraud in older and younger adults. Psychol Aging 2018; 33:325-337. [PMID: 29658750 PMCID: PMC6005691 DOI: 10.1037/pag0000228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Financial fraud is a societal problem for adults of all ages, but financial losses are especially damaging to older adults who typically live on fixed incomes and have less time to recoup losses. Persuasion tactics used by fraud perpetrators often elicit high levels of emotional arousal; thus, studying emotional arousal may help to identify the conditions under which individuals are particularly susceptible to fraud. We examined whether inducing high-arousal positive (HAP) and high-arousal negative (HAN) emotions increased susceptibility to fraud. Older (ages 65 to 85) and younger (ages 30 to 40) adults were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 emotional arousal conditions in a laboratory task: HAP, HAN, or low arousal (LA). Fraud susceptibility was assessed through participants' responses to misleading advertisements. Both HAP and HAN emotions were successfully induced in older and younger participants. For participants who exhibited the intended induced emotional arousal, both the HAP and HAN conditions, relative to the LA condition, significantly increased participants' reported intention to purchase falsely advertised items. These effects did not differ significantly between older and younger adults and were mitigated in participants who did not exhibit the intended emotional arousal. However, irrespective of the emotional arousal condition to which older adults were assigned (HAP, HAN, or LA), they reported greater purchase intention than did younger adults. These results inform the literature on fraud susceptibility and aging. Educating consumers to postpone financial decisions until they are in calm emotional states may protect against this common persuasion tactic. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Gary Mottola
- Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Investor Education
Foundation
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16
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Ramscar M, Sun CC, Hendrix P, Baayen H. The Mismeasurement of Mind: Life-Span Changes in Paired-Associate-Learning Scores Reflect the "Cost" of Learning, Not Cognitive Decline. Psychol Sci 2017; 28:1171-1179. [PMID: 28700267 DOI: 10.1177/0956797617706393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The age-related declines observed in scores on paired-associate-learning (PAL) tests are widely taken as support for the idea that human cognitive capacities decline across the life span. In a computational simulation, we showed that the patterns of change in PAL scores are actually predicted by the models that formalize the associative learning process in other areas of behavioral and neuroscientific research. These models also predict that manipulating language exposure can reproduce the experience-related performance differences erroneously attributed to age-related decline in age-matched adults. Consistent with this, results showed that older bilinguals outperformed native speakers in a German PAL test, an advantage that increased with age. These analyses and results show that age-related PAL performance changes reflect the predictable effects of learning on the associability of test items, and indicate that failing to control for these effects is distorting the understanding of cognitive and brain development in adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Ramscar
- Department of Linguistics, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
| | - Ching Chu Sun
- Department of Linguistics, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
| | - Peter Hendrix
- Department of Linguistics, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
| | - Harald Baayen
- Department of Linguistics, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
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17
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Abstract
As we age, the architecture of cognition undergoes a fundamental transition. Fluid intellectual abilities decline while crystalized abilities remain stable or increase. This shift has a profound impact across myriad cognitive and functional domains, yet the neural mechanisms remain under-specified. We have proposed that greater connectivity between the default network and executive control regions in lateral prefrontal cortex may underlie this shift, as older adults increasingly rely upon accumulated knowledge to support goal-directed behavior. Here we provide direct evidence for this mechanism within the domain of autobiographical memory. In a large sample of healthy adult participants (n = 103 Young; n = 80 Old) the strength of default - executive coupling reliably predicted more semanticized, or knowledge-based, recollection of autobiographical memories in the older adult cohort. The findings are consistent with the default - executive coupling hypothesis of aging and identify this shift in network dynamics as a candidate neural mechanism associated with crystalized cognition in later life that may signal adaptive capacity in the context of declining fluid cognitive abilities.
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Wu R, Zhao J. Prior Knowledge of Object Associations Shapes Attentional Templates and Information Acquisition. Front Psychol 2017; 8:843. [PMID: 28588542 PMCID: PMC5440728 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2016] [Accepted: 05/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies on attentional selection typically use unpredictable and meaningless stimuli, such as simple shapes and oriented lines. The assumption is that using these stimuli minimizes effects due to learning or prior knowledge, such that the task performance indexes a "pure" measure of the underlying cognitive ability. However, prior knowledge of the test stimuli and related stimuli acquired before or during the task impacts performance in meaningful ways. This mini review focuses on prior knowledge of object associations, because it is an important, yet often ignored, aspect of attentional selection. We first briefly review recent studies demonstrating that how objects are selected during visual search depends on the participant's prior experience with other objects associated with the target. These effects appear with both task-relevant and task-irrelevant knowledge. We then review how existing object associations may influence subsequent learning of new information, which is both a driver and a consequence of selection processes. These insights highlight the importance of one aspect of prior knowledge for attentional selection and information acquisition. We briefly discuss how this work with young adults may inform other age groups throughout the lifespan, as learners gradually increase their prior knowledge. Importantly, these insights have implications for developing more accurate measurements of cognitive abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Wu
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, RiversideCA, United States
| | - Jiaying Zhao
- Department of Psychology and Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British Columbia, VancouverBC, Canada
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19
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Cooper JA, Blanco NJ, Maddox WT. Framing matters: Effects of framing on older adults' exploratory decision-making. Psychol Aging 2016; 32:60-68. [PMID: 27977218 DOI: 10.1037/pag0000146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
We examined framing effects on exploratory decision-making. In Experiment 1 we tested older and younger adults in two decision-making tasks separated by one week, finding that older adults' decision-making performance was preserved when maximizing gains, but it declined when minimizing losses. Computational modeling indicates that younger adults in both conditions, and older adults in gains maximization, utilized a decreasing threshold strategy (which is optimal), but older adults in losses were better fit by a fixed-probability model of exploration. In Experiment 2 we examined within-subject behavior in older and younger adults in the same exploratory decision-making task, but without a time separation between tasks. We replicated the older adult disadvantage in loss minimization from Experiment 1 and found that the older adult deficit was significantly reduced when the loss-minimization task immediately followed the gains-maximization task. We conclude that older adults' performance in exploratory decision-making is hindered when framed as loss minimization, but that this deficit is attenuated when older adults can first develop a strategy in a gains-framed task. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - W Todd Maddox
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin
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20
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Increased experience amplifies the activation of task-irrelevant category representations. Atten Percept Psychophys 2016; 79:522-532. [DOI: 10.3758/s13414-016-1254-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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21
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Loeffler J, Raab M, Cañal-Bruland R. A Lifespan Perspective on Embodied Cognition. Front Psychol 2016; 7:845. [PMID: 27313562 PMCID: PMC4887461 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2016] [Accepted: 05/20/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Since its infancy embodied cognition research has fundamentally changed our understanding of how action, perception, and cognition relate to and interact with each other. Ideas from different schools of thought have led to controversial theories and a unifying framework is still being debated. In this perspective paper, we argue that in order to improve our understanding of embodied cognition and to take significant steps toward a comprehensive framework, a lifespan approach is mandatory. Given that most established theories have been developed and tested in the adult population, which is characterized by relatively robust and stable sensorimotor and cognitive abilities, we deem it questionable whether embodied cognition effects found in this population are representative for different life stages such as childhood or the elderly. In contrast to adulthood, childhood is accompanied by a rapid increase of sensorimotor and cognitive skills, and the old age by a decline of such capacities. Hence, sensorimotor and cognitive capacities, as well as their interactions, are more fragile at both extremes of the lifespan, thereby offering a unique window into the emergence of embodied cognition effects and age-related differences therein. A lifespan approach promises to make a major contribution toward a unifying and comprehensive theory of embodied cognition that is valid across the lifespan and ‘gets better with age.’
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonna Loeffler
- Department of Performance Psychology, Institute of Psychology, German Sport University Cologne Cologne, Germany
| | - Markus Raab
- Department of Performance Psychology, Institute of Psychology, German Sport University CologneCologne, Germany; School of Applied Sciences, London South Bank UniversityLondon, UK
| | - Rouwen Cañal-Bruland
- Department of Human Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands
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