Zonca Joshua, Del Mauro Lilia, Rustichini Aldo, Polonio Luca, Reverberi Carlo
Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.
Milan Center for Neuroscience - NeuroMI, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.
Open Mind (Camb). 2025 Jan 23;9:210-239. doi: 10.1162/opmi_a_00186. eCollection 2025.
A remarkable feature of human intelligence is the ability to optimize our decisions based on the potential actions of others. This ability, i.e., strategic sophistication, is crucial in strategic interactions, where we need to predict others' actions (first-order beliefs), anticipate others' beliefs about our own possible actions (second-order beliefs), and optimize decisions based on such beliefs. While behavioral research has highlighted systematic departures from theoretically optimal behavior in strategic interactions, little is known about the possibility of enhancing strategic sophistication. In particular, no studies investigated whether and how the interaction between exogenous factors (i.e., the learning environment) and endogenous factors (i.e., individual cognitive abilities) shapes learning in strategic settings. In a novel mouse-tracking study, we manipulate the learning environment and test its interaction with individual cognitive abilities in determining context-specific and transfer of learning in interactive games. Choice and process data reveal that the interplay between individual cognitive abilities and the learning environment does modulate participants' learning. The learning environment determines is learned and acquired knowledge is applied in similar contexts and transferred to novel settings. Moreover, learning success in different strategic environments depends on individual cognitive abilities. In particular, higher levels of cognitive reflection are necessary to learn sophisticated strategic behavior (i.e., forming second-order beliefs) and transfer acquired knowledge to more complex strategic environments after receiving relevant feedback. However, higher cognitive reflection levels are insufficient to prevent the misapplication of procedures learned in a specific environment to other strategic contexts with substantial structural differences. Our results provide novel insights into the factors that promote or hamper learning in interactive decision-making.
人类智能的一个显著特征是能够根据他人可能的行动来优化我们的决策。这种能力，即策略复杂性，在策略互动中至关重要，在这种互动中，我们需要预测他人的行动（一阶信念），预测他人对我们自己可能行动的信念（二阶信念），并基于这些信念优化决策。虽然行为研究强调了在策略互动中与理论上最优行为的系统性偏差，但对于提高策略复杂性的可能性却知之甚少。特别是，没有研究调查外生因素（即学习环境）和内生因素（即个体认知能力）之间的相互作用是否以及如何在策略环境中塑造学习。在一项新颖的鼠标追踪研究中，我们操纵学习环境，并测试其与个体认知能力在交互式游戏中确定特定情境下的学习和学习迁移方面的相互作用。选择和过程数据表明，个体认知能力与学习环境之间的相互作用确实会调节参与者的学习。学习环境决定了学到了什么以及所获得的知识如何在相似情境中应用并转移到新情境中。此外，在不同策略环境中的学习成功取决于个体认知能力。特别是，要学习复杂的策略行为（即形成二阶信念）并在收到相关反馈后将获得的知识转移到更复杂的策略环境中，需要更高水平的认知反思。然而，更高的认知反思水平不足以防止在特定环境中学习的程序在结构上有很大差异的其他策略情境中被错误应用。我们的研究结果为促进或阻碍交互式决策中学习的因素提供了新的见解。
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