A Neuro-computational Account of Arbitration between Choice Imitation and Goal Emulation during Human Observational Learning.

ABSTRACT: When individuals learn from observing the behavior of others, they deploy at least two distinct strategies. Choice imitation involves repeating other agents' previous actions, whereas emulation proceeds from inferring their goals and intentions. Despite the prevalence of observational learning in humans and other social animals, a fundamental question remains unaddressed: how does the brain decide which strategy to use in a given situation? In two fMRI studies (the second a pre-registered replication of the first), we identify a neuro-computational mechanism underlying arbitration between choice imitation and goal emulation. Computational modeling, combined with a behavioral task that dissociated the two strategies, revealed that control over behavior was adaptively and dynamically weighte

SUBMITTER: Charpentier CJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7244377 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature