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Evolutionary Psychology : An... Mar 2017Whereas women of all ages prefer slightly older sexual partners, men-regardless of their age-have a preference for women in their 20s. Earlier research has suggested...
Whereas women of all ages prefer slightly older sexual partners, men-regardless of their age-have a preference for women in their 20s. Earlier research has suggested that this difference between the sexes' age preferences is resolved according to women's preferences. This research has not, however, sufficiently considered that the age range of considered partners might change over the life span. Here we investigated the age limits (youngest and oldest) of considered and actual sex partners in a population-based sample of 2,655 adults (aged 18-50 years). Over the investigated age span, women reported a narrower age range than men and women tended to prefer slightly older men. We also show that men's age range widens as they get older: While they continue to consider sex with young women, men also consider sex with women their own age or older. Contrary to earlier suggestions, men's sexual activity thus reflects also their own age range, although their potential interest in younger women is not likely converted into sexual activity. Compared to homosexual men, bisexual and heterosexual men were more unlikely to convert young preferences into actual behavior, supporting female-choice theory.
Topics: Adolescent; Age Factors; Choice Behavior; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Sexual Behavior; Sexual Partners; Young Adult
PubMed: 28127998
DOI: 10.1177/1474704917690401 -
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews Sep 2016This paper offers an active inference account of choice behaviour and learning. It focuses on the distinction between goal-directed and habitual behaviour and how they... (Review)
Review
This paper offers an active inference account of choice behaviour and learning. It focuses on the distinction between goal-directed and habitual behaviour and how they contextualise each other. We show that habits emerge naturally (and autodidactically) from sequential policy optimisation when agents are equipped with state-action policies. In active inference, behaviour has explorative (epistemic) and exploitative (pragmatic) aspects that are sensitive to ambiguity and risk respectively, where epistemic (ambiguity-resolving) behaviour enables pragmatic (reward-seeking) behaviour and the subsequent emergence of habits. Although goal-directed and habitual policies are usually associated with model-based and model-free schemes, we find the more important distinction is between belief-free and belief-based schemes. The underlying (variational) belief updating provides a comprehensive (if metaphorical) process theory for several phenomena, including the transfer of dopamine responses, reversal learning, habit formation and devaluation. Finally, we show that active inference reduces to a classical (Bellman) scheme, in the absence of ambiguity.
Topics: Choice Behavior; Dopamine; Habits; Learning; Reward
PubMed: 27375276
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.06.022 -
Neuron May 2022Logistic regressions were developed in economics to model individual choice behavior. In recent years, they have become an important tool in decision neuroscience. Here,... (Review)
Review
Logistic regressions were developed in economics to model individual choice behavior. In recent years, they have become an important tool in decision neuroscience. Here, I describe and discuss different logistic models, emphasizing the underlying assumptions and possible interpretations. Logistic models may be used to quantify a variety of behavioral traits, including the relative subjective value of different goods, the choice accuracy, risk attitudes, and choice biases. More complex logistic models can be used for choices between good bundles, in cases of nonlinear value functions, and for choices between multiple options. Finally, logistic models can quantify the explanatory power of neuronal activity on choices, thus providing a valid alternative to receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses.
Topics: Choice Behavior; Decision Making; Neurons; Neurosciences
PubMed: 35334232
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.03.002 -
Learning & Behavior Dec 2023The present study evaluated the role of inhibition in paradoxical choice in pigeons. In a paradoxical choice procedure, pigeons receive a choice between two...
The present study evaluated the role of inhibition in paradoxical choice in pigeons. In a paradoxical choice procedure, pigeons receive a choice between two alternatives. Choosing the "suboptimal" alternative is followed 20% of the time by one cue (the S+) that is always reinforced, and 80% of the time by another cue (S-) that is never reinforced. Thus, this alternative leads to an overall reinforcement rate of 20%. Choosing the "optimal" alternative, however, is followed by one of two cues (S3 or S4), each reinforced 50% of the time. Thus, this alternative leads to an overall reinforcement rate of 50%. González and Blaisdell (2021) reported that development of paradoxical choice was positively correlated to the development of inhibition to the S- (signal that no food will be delivered on that trial) post-choice stimulus. The current experiment tested the hypothesis that inhibition to a post-choice stimulus is causally related to suboptimal preference. Following acquisition of suboptimal preference, pigeons received two manipulations: in one condition one of the cues in the optimal alternative (S4) was extinguished and, in another condition, the S- cue was partially reinforced. When tested on the choice task afterward, both manipulations resulted in a decrement in suboptimal preference. This result is paradoxical given that both manipulations made the suboptimal alternative the richer option. We discuss the implications of our results, arguing that inhibition of a post-choice cue increases attraction to or value of that choice.
Topics: Animals; Reinforcement Schedule; Choice Behavior; Reinforcement, Psychology; Inhibition, Psychological; Cues; Columbidae
PubMed: 37145372
DOI: 10.3758/s13420-023-00584-2 -
Psychology of Addictive Behaviors :... Feb 2023To examine Howard Rachlin's hypothetical model of molar choice as a tactic for resisting addictions and to explore how some of its then-radical components can be... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVE
To examine Howard Rachlin's hypothetical model of molar choice as a tactic for resisting addictions and to explore how some of its then-radical components can be developed to account for nonphysical and far future rewards.
METHOD
The history of Rachlin's long dialog with the present author about molar choice is reviewed. The possible implications are described of both authors' proposal that behavior can depend entirely on reward.
RESULTS
Molar choice entails bringing wider-and thus further future-contingencies to bear on current choices. The two authors proposed mechanisms with different foci, which they respectively called teleological behaviorism and intertemporal bargaining. Laboratory results have been modest, but supplementary demonstrations by thought experiments and brain imaging are described. Both proposals have left open how the value of distant outcomes, such as sobriety, savings, and healthy aging, survives temporal discounting enough to compete with present motivational pressures. In contradiction to Rachlin, but following his suggestion that reward is behavior, it is deduced that some reward must be endogenous rather than secondary to external primary rewards. Endogenous reward is proposed as a fiat currency that can function only to the extent that it is protected from inflation by some kind of uniqueness (). Such uniqueness can be provided by personal disciplines for testing reality, but also by extraneous factors such as needs, coincidences, and biases.
CONCLUSIONS
Rachlin's teleological behaviorism is a valuable hypothesis, but limited by its ruling out of nonexternal rewards and of intrapersonal self-prediction, both of them useful for understanding nonsubstance addictions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
Topics: Humans; Choice Behavior; Delay Discounting; Reward; Brain; Motivation
PubMed: 35758981
DOI: 10.1037/adb0000853 -
Behavioural Processes Jun 2016Addiction may be viewed as choice governed by competing contingencies. One factor impacting choice, particularly as it relates to addiction, is sensitivity to delayed... (Review)
Review
Addiction may be viewed as choice governed by competing contingencies. One factor impacting choice, particularly as it relates to addiction, is sensitivity to delayed rewards. Discounting of delayed rewards influences addiction vulnerability because of competition between relatively immediate gains of drug use, e.g. intoxication, versus relatively remote gains of abstinence, e.g. family stability. Factors modifying delay sensitivity can be modeled in the laboratory. For instance, increased delay sensitivity can be similarly observed in adolescent humans and non-human animals. Similarly, genetic factors influence delay sensitivity in humans and animals. Recovery from addiction may also be viewed as choice behavior. Thus, reinforcing alternative behavior facilitates recovery because reinforcing alternative behavior decreases the frequency of using drugs. How reinforcing alternative behavior influences recovery can also be modeled in the laboratory. For instance, relapse risk decreases as abstinence duration increases, and this decreasing risk can be modeled in animals using choice procedures. In summary, addiction in many respects can be conceptualized as a problem of choice. Animal models of choice disorders stand to increase our understanding of the core processes that establish and maintain addiction and serve as a proving ground for development of novel treatments.
Topics: Animals; Choice Behavior; Delay Discounting; Humans; Reinforcement, Psychology; Substance-Related Disorders
PubMed: 27083500
DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2016.04.001 -
Behavioural Processes Aug 2017Resurgence is typically defined as an increase in a previously extinguished target behavior when a more recently reinforced alternative behavior is later extinguished.... (Review)
Review
Resurgence is typically defined as an increase in a previously extinguished target behavior when a more recently reinforced alternative behavior is later extinguished. Some treatments of the phenomenon have suggested that it might also extend to circumstances where either the historic or more recently reinforced behavior is reduced by other non-extinction related means (e.g., punishment, decreases in reinforcement rate, satiation, etc.). Here we present a theory of resurgence suggesting that the phenomenon results from the same basic processes governing choice. In its most general form, the theory suggests that resurgence results from changes in the allocation of target behavior driven by changes in the values of the target and alternative options across time. Specifically, resurgence occurs when there is an increase in the relative value of an historically effective target option as a result of a subsequent devaluation of a more recently effective alternative option. We develop a more specific quantitative model of how extinction of the target and alternative responses in a typical resurgence paradigm might produce such changes in relative value across time using a temporal weighting rule. The example model does a good job in accounting for the effects of reinforcement rate and related manipulations on resurgence in simple schedules where Behavioral Momentum Theory has failed. We also discuss how the general theory might be extended to other parameters of reinforcement (e.g., magnitude, quality), other means to suppress target or alternative behavior (e.g., satiation, punishment, differential reinforcement of other behavior), and other factors (e.g., non- contingent versus contingent alternative reinforcement, serial alternative reinforcement, and multiple schedules).
Topics: Animals; Choice Behavior; Conditioning, Operant; Extinction, Psychological; Models, Psychological; Reinforcement Schedule; Reinforcement, Psychology
PubMed: 27794452
DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2016.10.006 -
The Journal of Neuroscience : the... Mar 2023In reinforcement learning (RL), animals choose by assigning values to options and learn by updating these values from reward outcomes. This framework has been...
In reinforcement learning (RL), animals choose by assigning values to options and learn by updating these values from reward outcomes. This framework has been instrumental in identifying fundamental learning variables and their neuronal implementations. However, canonical RL models do not explain how reward values are constructed from biologically critical intrinsic reward components, such as nutrients. From an ecological perspective, animals should adapt their foraging choices in dynamic environments to acquire nutrients that are essential for survival. Here, to advance the biological and ecological validity of RL models, we investigated how (male) monkeys adapt their choices to obtain preferred nutrient rewards under varying reward probabilities. We found that the nutrient composition of rewards strongly influenced learning and choices. Preferences of the animals for specific nutrients (sugar, fat) affected how they adapted to changing reward probabilities; the history of recent rewards influenced choices of the monkeys more strongly if these rewards contained the their preferred nutrients (nutrient-specific reward history). The monkeys also chose preferred nutrients even when they were associated with lower reward probability. A nutrient-sensitive RL model captured these processes; it updated the values of individual sugar and fat components of expected rewards based on experience and integrated them into subjective values that explained the choices of the monkeys. Nutrient-specific reward prediction errors guided this value-updating process. Our results identify nutrients as important reward components that guide learning and choice by influencing the subjective value of choice options. Extending RL models with nutrient-value functions may enhance their biological validity and uncover nutrient-specific learning and decision variables. RL is an influential framework that formalizes how animals learn from experienced rewards. Although reward is a foundational concept in RL theory, canonical RL models cannot explain how learning depends on specific reward properties, such as nutrients. Intuitively, learning should be sensitive to the nutrient components of the reward to benefit health and survival. Here, we show that the nutrient (fat, sugar) composition of rewards affects how the monkeys choose and learn in an RL paradigm and that key learning variables including reward history and reward prediction error should be modified with nutrient-specific components to account for the choice behavior observed in the monkeys. By incorporating biologically critical nutrient rewards into the RL framework, our findings help advance the ecological validity of RL models.
Topics: Animals; Male; Haplorhini; Reinforcement, Psychology; Reward; Neurons; Nutrients; Choice Behavior
PubMed: 36669886
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0752-22.2022 -
BioMed Research International 2018Madelung's disease is a rare lipid metabolic disorder characterized by diffuse, uncapsulated lipomas in the neck, shoulder, and other areas. It mainly affects... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Madelung's disease is a rare lipid metabolic disorder characterized by diffuse, uncapsulated lipomas in the neck, shoulder, and other areas. It mainly affects middle-aged men and is related to alcohol abuse, and the cause is not clear. Surgical treatments include lipectomy and liposuction.
METHODS
This systematic review analyzed the treatment of Madelung's disease described in 52 articles including complete patient details, published between 2000 and 2015, and retrieved from the Web of Science, PubMed, Medline, and Embase.
RESULTS
Lipectomy was performed in most cases and achieved more complete removal and better control of iatrogenic lesions of nearby structures than liposuction. Liposuction achieved good cosmetic results and is simpler and less invasive than lipectomy, but clinical experience is limited.
CONCLUSIONS
Both lipectomy and liposuction have advantages and drawbacks. Surgeons should base the choice of optimal treatment on patient characteristics. Novel surgical techniques and etiologically targeted treatments hold promise as future therapies.
Topics: Animals; Choice Behavior; Humans; Lipectomy; Lipomatosis, Multiple Symmetrical; Surgeons
PubMed: 29682541
DOI: 10.1155/2018/3975974 -
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of... Jan 2016Pigeons and other animals sometimes deviate from optimal choice behavior when given informative signals for delayed outcomes. For example, when pigeons are given a... (Review)
Review
Pigeons and other animals sometimes deviate from optimal choice behavior when given informative signals for delayed outcomes. For example, when pigeons are given a choice between an alternative that always leads to food after a delay and an alternative that leads to food only half of the time after a delay, preference changes dramatically depending on whether the stimuli during the delays are correlated with (signal) the outcomes or not. With signaled outcomes, pigeons show a much greater preference for the suboptimal alternative than with unsignaled outcomes. Key variables and research findings related to this phenomenon are reviewed, including the effects of durations of the choice and delay periods, probability of reinforcement, and gaps in the signal. We interpret the available evidence as reflecting a preference induced by signals for good news in a context of uncertainty. Other explanations are briefly summarized and compared.
Topics: Animals; Choice Behavior; Columbidae; Delay Discounting; Psychological Trauma; Reinforcement, Psychology; Reward; Time Factors
PubMed: 26781050
DOI: 10.1002/jeab.192