Novelty and uncertainty differentially drive exploration across development

Kate Nussenbaum; Rebecca E Martin; Sean Maulhardt; Yi (Jen) Yang; Naiti S Bhatt; Greer Bizzell- Hatcher; Maximilian Koenig; Gail M Rosenbaum; John P O'Doherty; Jeffrey Cockburn; Catherine A Hartley

doi:10.7554/elife.84260

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Novelty and uncertainty differentially drive exploration across development

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Novelty and uncertainty differentially drive exploration across development

Kate Nussenbaum, Rebecca E Martin, Sean Maulhardt, Yi (Jen) Yang, Naiti S Bhatt, Greer Bizzell- Hatcher, Maximilian Koenig, Gail M Rosenbaum, John P O'Doherty, Jeffrey Cockburn, …

eLife, Vol.12, e84260

08/16/2023

DOI: 10.7554/elife.84260

PMCID: PMC10431916

PMID: 37585251

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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 increased into adulthood. Computational modeling of participant choices revealed that whereas adolescents and adults demonstrated attenuated uncertainty aversion for more novel choice options, children’s choices were not influenced by reward uncertainty.

Details

Title: Subtitle: Novelty and uncertainty differentially drive exploration across development
Creators: Kate Nussenbaum - New York University
Rebecca E Martin - New York University
Sean Maulhardt - New York University
Yi (Jen) Yang - New York University
Naiti S Bhatt - New York University
Greer Bizzell- Hatcher - New York University
Maximilian Koenig
Gail M Rosenbaum - New York University
John P O'Doherty
Jeffrey Cockburn - California Institute of Technology
Catherine A Hartley - New York University
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: eLife, Vol.12, e84260
Publisher: {eLife} Sciences Publications, Ltd
DOI: 10.7554/elife.84260
PMID: 37585251
PMCID: PMC10431916
ISSN: 2050-084X
eISSN: 2050-084X
Language: English
Date published: 08/16/2023
Academic Unit: Psychological and Brain Sciences
Record Identifier: 9984696652402771

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