Frölich Sascha, Esmeyer Marlon, Endrass Tanja, Smolka Michael N, Kiebel Stefan J
Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Department of Psychiatry, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Front Neurosci. 2023 Jan 13;16:996957. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2022.996957. eCollection 2022.
Human behavior consists in large parts of action sequences that are often repeated in mostly the same way. Through extensive repetition, sequential responses become automatic or habitual, but our environment often confronts us with events to which we have to react flexibly and in a goal-directed manner. To assess how implicitly learned action sequences interfere with goal-directed control, we developed a novel behavioral paradigm in which we combined action sequence learning through repetition with a goal-directed task component. So-called dual-target trials require the goal-directed selection of the response with the highest reward probability in a fast succession of trials with short response deadlines. Importantly, the response primed by the learned action sequence is sometimes different from that required by the goal-directed task. As expected, we found that participants learned the action sequence through repetition, as evidenced by reduced reaction times (RT) and error rates (ER), while still acting in a goal-directed manner in dual-target trials. Specifically, we found that the learned action sequence biased choices in the goal-directed task toward the sequential response, and this effect was more pronounced the better individuals had learned the sequence. Our novel task may help shed light on the acquisition of automatic behavioral patterns and habits through extensive repetition, allows to assess positive features of habitual behavior (e.g., increased response speed and reduced error rates), and importantly also the interaction of habitual and goal-directed behaviors under time pressure.
人类行为在很大程度上由经常以大致相同方式重复的动作序列组成。通过大量重复，序列反应会变得自动或成为习惯，但我们的环境常常使我们面对必须灵活且以目标导向方式做出反应的事件。为了评估内隐学习的动作序列如何干扰目标导向控制，我们开发了一种新颖的行为范式，将通过重复进行的动作序列学习与一个目标导向任务组件相结合。所谓的双目标试验要求在一连串快速试验且反应期限较短的情况下，目标导向地选择奖励概率最高的反应。重要的是，由所学动作序列引发的反应有时与目标导向任务要求的反应不同。正如预期的那样，我们发现参与者通过重复学习了动作序列，反应时间（RT）和错误率（ER）降低证明了这一点，同时在双目标试验中仍以目标导向方式行动。具体而言，我们发现所学动作序列在目标导向任务中使选择偏向序列反应，并且个体对序列学得越好，这种效应就越明显。我们的新任务可能有助于阐明通过大量重复获得自动行为模式和习惯的过程，能够评估习惯行为的积极特征（例如，反应速度提高和错误率降低），并且重要的是还能评估在时间压力下习惯行为与目标导向行为的相互作用。
