Novelty and uncertainty differentially drive exploration across development.

ABSTRACT: Across the lifespan, individuals frequently choose between exploiting known rewarding options or exploring unknown alternatives. A large body of work has suggested that children may explore more than adults. However, because novelty and reward uncertainty are often correlated, it is unclear how they differentially influence decision-making across development. Here, children, adolescents, and adults (ages 8-27 years, N = 122) completed an adapted version of a recently developed value-guided decision-making task that decouples novelty and uncertainty. In line with prior studies, we found that exploration decreased with increasing age. Critically, participants of all ages demonstrated a similar bias to select choice options with greater novelty, whereas aversion to reward uncertainty i

SUBMITTER: Nussenbaum K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10431916 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature