Choice, free will, and religion.

Although free will has been defined in multiple, conflicting ways, the present approach analyzes it as a psychological capacity subsuming self-control, effortful choice, planning, and initiative. These capabilities are useful for making human social life and culture possible, but they depend on a limited resource and therefore often fall short of optimal levels. Religion may be helpful to individuals and society in part because it supports both the exercise of free will and the belief in it. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-control and alcohol restraint: An initial application of the Self-Control Strength Model.

Individuals whose self-control strength is depleted through the prior exertion of self-control may consume more alcohol in situations that demand restraint. Male social drinkers either exerted self-control by suppressing their thoughts or did not exert self-control while doing arithmetic. They then sampled beer. Participants expected a driving test after drinking and therefore were motivated to limit their intake. Individuals who suppressed their thoughts consumed more and achieved a higher blood alcohol content than those who did arithmetic. The groups did not differ in mood, arousal, or frustration. Individuals higher in trait temptation to drink consumed more after suppressing their thoughts relative to those lower in trait temptation. Alcohol intake may be a function of temptation to drink and self-control strength. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conditioned Activity and Instrumental Reinforcement Following Long-Term Oral Consumption of Cocaine by Rats.

Food-reinforced conditioned activity and instrumental responding were measured in rats after 50 weeks of continuous access to a cocaine-saccharin solution in their home cages. The elevation of conditioned activity produced by acute access to the cocaine-saccharin solution in the home cage during testing was abolished by long-term preexposure to the cocaine solution, an effect that was reversed by systemic administration of cocaine immediately prior to testing. By contrast, chronic cocaine preexposure enhanced instrumental responding for both cocaine-sucrose and pure sucrose solutions. These results support the idea that long-term cocaine exposure enhances subsequent reinforcement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exploring a Concurrent-Chains Paradox: Decreasing Preference as an Initial Link Is Shortened.

Experiments with pigeons and rats on concurrent-chains schedules examined a paradoxical effect reported by R. A. Preston and E. Fantino (1991). One schedule in the concurrent chain had a variable-interval (VI) 60-s initial link, and its terminal link was a 10-s delay to food. The other schedule had an initial link that ranged from VI 60 s to VI 2 s, and its terminal link was a 20-s delay to food. The paradoxical effect--a decrease in preference for the 20-s delay as its initial link was shortened--was found in some conditions but not in others. An analysis of response-reinforcer delays suggested that the paradoxical effect occurred in conditions in which responding on the short VI schedule almost always led to the 20-s delay, eliminating the possibility of switching to the alternative with the shorter delay. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Addiction Motivation Reformulated: An Affective Processing Model of Negative Reinforcement.

This article offers a reformulation of the negative reinforcement model of drug addiction and proposes that the escape and avoidance of negative affect is the prepotent motive for addictive drug use. The authors posit that negative affect is the motivational core of the withdrawal syndrome and argue that, through repeated cycles of drug use and withdrawal, addicted organisms learn to detect interoceptive cues of negative affect preconsciously. Thus, the motivational basis of much drug use is opaque and tends not to reflect cognitive control. When either stressors or abstinence causes negative affect to grow and enter consciousness, increasing negative affect biases information processing in ways that promote renewed drug administration. After explicating their model, the authors address previous critiques of negative reinforcement models in light of their reformulation and review predictions generated by their model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Acquisition With Partial and Continuous Reinforcement in Rat Magazine Approach.

Partial reinforcement, compared with continuous reinforcement, is widely considered detrimental to Pavlovian conditioned responding. However, time-accumulation models predict an invariance in acquisition when learning is assessed as a function of number of reinforcements, not trials, and intertrial interval is held constant. Three experiments examined this prediction in a rat magazine-approach procedure. All experiments showed superior responding with continuous reinforcement. Experiments 1 and 3 used common tests in between- and within-subject designs, respectively. Experiment 2 showed the same pattern in a discrimination. Earlier results are reanalyzed informally and in a meta-analysis. Contrary to previous summaries of the literature, evidence points to superior conditioned responding with continuous reinforcement in a number of procedures. Results are generally consistent with traditional associative models of learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Choice reaction time: An analysis of the major theoretical positions.

This report analyzes and evaluates (against experimental findings) contemporary theories of choice reaction time (CRT). The influence of Donders' subtraction method on current theory is assessed, followed by a review of experimental findings concerned with the effects on CRT of (a) number of alternatives, (b) stimulus probability, (c) stimulus value, (d) repetition of stimulus or response, (e) stimulus discriminability, (f) stimulus-response compatibility, (g) practice, and (h) emphasis on speed vs. accuracy. A 3-state conceptualization of the central mechanisms operative during the latent period-stimulus preprocessing, stimulus categorization, and response selection-is proposed. The theories are dichotomized on the basis of the process-template matching vs. feature testing-which is assumed to underlie stimulus categorization. The analysis indicates that current theories have neglected response-selection processes and are consequently unable to account for several experimental findings. A final section deals with the relation of CRT theories to perceptual recognition theories. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Discounting Framework for Choice With Delayed and Probabilistic Rewards.

When choosing between delayed or uncertain outcomes, individuals discount the value of such outcomes on the basis of the expected time to or the likelihood of their occurrence. In an integrative review of the expanding experimental literature on discounting, the authors show that although the same form of hyperbola-like function describes discounting of both delayed and probabilistic outcomes, a variety of recent findings are inconsistent with a single-process account. The authors also review studies that compare discounting in different populations and discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the findings. The present effort illustrates the value of studying choice involving both delayed and probabilistic outcomes within a general discounting framework that uses similar experimental procedures and a common analytical approach. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Making choices impairs subsequent self-control: A limited-resource account of decision making, self-regulation, and active initiative.

The current research tested the hypothesis that making many choices impairs subsequent self-control. Drawing from a limited-resource model of self-regulation and executive function, the authors hypothesized that decision making depletes the same resource used for self-control and active responding. In 4 laboratory studies, some participants made choices among consumer goods or college course options, whereas others thought about the same options without making choices. Making choices led to reduced self-control (i.e., less physical stamina, reduced persistence in the face of failure, more procrastination, and less quality and quantity of arithmetic calculations). A field study then found that reduced self-control was predicted by shoppers' self-reported degree of previous active decision making. Further studies suggested that choosing is more depleting than merely deliberating and forming preferences about options and more depleting than implementing choices made by someone else and that anticipating the choice task as enjoyable can reduce the depleting effect for the first choices but not for many choices. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prize Reinforcement Contingency Management for Cocaine Dependence: Integration With Group Therapy in a Methadone Clinic.

In this study, the authors evaluated a low-cost contingency management (CM) procedure for reducing cocaine use and enhancing group therapy attendance in 77 cocaine-dependent methadone patients. Patients were randomly assigned to 12 weeks of standard treatment or standard treatment with CM, in which patients earned the opportunity to win prizes ranging from $1 to $100 for submitting cocainenegative samples and attending therapy. Patients in the CM condition submitted more cocaine-negative samples and attended more groups than patients in standard treatment. The best predictor of cocaine abstinence at follow-up was duration of abstinence during treatment. On average, patients in the CM condition earned $117 in prizes. Data from this study suggest that some aspects of reinforcement can be implemented in group therapy in community-based clinics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Choice and contingency in the development of behavioral autonomy during instrumental conditioning.

In two experiments hungry rats received extensive training to lever press for food outcomes before one outcome was devalued by aversion conditioning and responding tested in extinction. If the rats were trained on a concurrent schedule in which two responses yielded different outcomes, performance during the extinction test was reduced by devaluation of the associated outcome. By contrast, if a single response was trained concurrently with the noncontingent presentations of the other outcome, test performance was insensitive to devaluation of the contingent outcome. This finding demonstrates that training on a schedule that offers a choice between responses that yield different outcomes prevents the onset of behavioral autonomy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Choice and self-expression: A cultural analysis of variety-seeking.

Three studies examined whether the tendency to seek variety in choices depends in part on cultural assumptions of choice and uniqueness. Study 1 showed that people from different cultures where different assumptions of choice and uniqueness dominate show different levels of variety in their choice rule use. Study 2 primed participants with magazine ads highlighting different representations of uniqueness dominant in individualist versus collectivist cultures to show the influence of cultural meanings of uniqueness on the variety-seeking tendency. Study 3 manipulated the motivation to display to demonstrate that variety-seeking in the United States partly hinges on cultural meanings of as self-expression. Variety-seeking in choice rule use was eliminated when participants had the chance to self-express through choice listing. The research illustrates the role of cultural assumptions in the variety-seeking tendency. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intentions to Work During Terminal Illness: An Exploratory Study of Antecedent Conditions.

Facing a terminal illness is an unimaginably difficult experience, yet many individuals intend to work despite their prognosis. However, research has not systematically examined the potential antecedents underlying such intentions. Using behavioral intention theory as an underlying framework, this study hypothesized that reasons for working (intrinsic and extrinsic), the will to live, disability severity, accessibility of travel, and age would predict intentions to work during terminal illness. A representative sample of medically diagnosed amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (a.k.a. Lou Gehrig's disease) patients with a mean life expectancy of approximately 3 years participated (mean age=57.8 years). Controlling for length of diagnosis, employment status, and demographic variables, results indicated that intrinsic reasons were particularly strong predictors of intentions, followed by age, disability severity, and accessibility of travel. Exploratory findings also indicated that behavioral intentions were positively related to future employment status, consistent with past theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family Communication and Religiosity Related to Substance Use and Sexual Behavior in Early Adolescence: A Test for Pathways Through Self-Control and Prototype Perceptions.

This research tested predictions about pathways to substance use and sexual behavior with a community sample of 297 African American adolescents (M age: 13.0 years). Structural modeling indicated that parent-adolescent communication had a path to unfavorable prototypes of substance users; quality of parent-adolescent relationship had paths to good self-control, higher resistance efficacy, and unfavorable prototypes of sexually active teens; and religiosity had inverse direct effects to both substance use and sexual behavior. Self-control constructs had paths to prototypes of abstainers, whereas risk taking had paths to prototypes of drug and sex engagers and direct effects to outcomes. Prototypes had paths to outcomes primarily through resistance efficacy and peer affiliations. Effects were also found for gender, parental education, and temperament characteristics. Implications for self-control theory and prevention research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Opioid Craving and Seeking Behavior in Physically Dependent Volunteers: Effects of Acute Withdrawal and Drug Reinforcement Opportunity.

This study examined whether acute opioid withdrawal and drug reinforcement opportunity increase opioid craving and seeking behavior. The author used a 3 × 2 within-subject randomized crossover design to assess craving and operant behavioral effects of 3 pretreatments (naloxone 0.1 mg/70 kg, fentanyl 0.75 mg/70 kg, or saline iv) and drug or money reinforcement opportunity in 8 methadone-maintained volunteers. Each pretreatment was paired with response-contingent (15 × fixed-ratio 100) delivery of drug (fentanyl 1.5 mg/70 kg iv) and money (rated equivalent of fentanyl) in different sessions. Naloxone significantly increased opioid craving, withdrawal signs, and symptoms, but not operant behavior, relative to saline and fentanyl pretreatment. However, drug versus money reinforcement opportunity did not significantly increase opioid craving or seeking behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perspectives of probabilistic inferences: Reinforcement learning and an adaptive network compared.

The assumption that people possess a strategy repertoire for inferences has been raised repeatedly. The strategy selection learning theory specifies how people select strategies from this repertoire. The theory assumes that individuals select strategies proportional to their subjective expectations of how well the strategies solve particular problems; such expectations are assumed to be updated by reinforcement learning. The theory is compared with an adaptive network model that assumes people make inferences by integrating information according to a connectionist network. The network's weights are modified by error correction learning. The theories were tested against each other in 2 experimental studies. Study 1 showed that people substantially improved their inferences through feedback, which was appropriately predicted by the strategy selection learning theory. Study 2 examined a dynamic environment in which the strategies' performances changed. In this situation a quick adaptation to the new situation was not observed; rather, individuals got stuck on the strategy they had successfully applied previously. This "inertia effect" was most strongly predicted by the strategy selection learning theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Food reinforcement and eating: A multilevel analysis.

Eating represents a choice among many alternative behaviors. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of how food reinforcement and behavioral choice theory are related to eating and to show how this theoretical approach may help organize research on eating from molecular genetics through treatment and prevention of obesity. Special emphasis is placed on how food reinforcement and behavioral choice theory are relevant to understanding excess energy intake and obesity and how they provide a framework for examining factors that may influence eating and are outside of those that may regulate energy homeostasis. Methods to measure food reinforcement are reviewed, along with factors that influence the reinforcing value of eating. Contributions of neuroscience and genetics to the study of food reinforcement are illustrated by using the example of dopamine. Implications of food reinforcement for obesity and positive energy balance are explored, with suggestions for novel approaches to obesity treatment based on the synthesis of behavioral and pharmacological approaches to food reinforcement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An argument against dual valuation system competition: Cognitive capacities supporting future orientation mediate rather than compete with visceral motivations.

The dynamic inconsistency of preference is well documented in behavioral research, but its basis remains controversial. In this article, the authors summarize recent functional MRI (fMRI) work in the domain of intertemporal choice, specifically considering evidence bearing on the hypothesis that delay discounting in humans is determined by competition between an evolutionarily older system that discounts precipitously with delay (System 1) and a newer system that exhibits very little discounting (System 2). The authors argue that neuroimaging evidence does not support the hypothesized separate and competing value systems. While it is clear that the sophisticated cognitive capacities that lead to greater valuation of larger later alternatives (e.g., selective attention and self-signaling) depend critically on neocortical structures, these capacities affect intertemporal choice through mediation of (rather than competition with) older cortical and subcortical structures central to reward and motivation. Taken together, neuroimaging evidence supports the alternative hypothesis that intertemporal choice is guided by a single valuation system. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivated attention and prepulse inhibition of startle in rats: Using conditioned reinforcers as prepulses.

In humans, prepulse inhibition (PPI) of startle is greater during attended prestimuli than it is during ignored prestimuli, whereas in rats, most work has focused on passive PPI, which does not require attention. In the work described in this article, researchers developed a paradigm to assess attentional modification of PPI in rats using motivationally salient prepulses. Water-deprived rats were either conditioned to attend to a conditioned stimulus (CS; 1-s, 7-dB increase in white noise) paired with water (CS+ group), or they received uncorrelated presentations of white noise and water (CSo group). After 10 conditioning sessions, startle probes (50 ms, 115 dB) were introduced, with the CS serving as a continuous prepulse. Three experiments examined PPI across a range of prepulse intensities (4-10 dB) and stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs; 30-960 ms). PPI was consistently reduced in the CS+ group, particularly with a 10-dB prepulse and a 60-ms SOA. Thus, PPI in rats differed between attended and ignored prestimuli, but the effect was reversed in the results of research with humans. A fourth study eliminated the group difference by reversing the CS-water contingency. Methodological and motivational hypotheses regarding the current findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)