What influence does the inner clock have on our decisions?

In a recent study, researchers of the CRC 940 "Volition and Cognitive Control" at Technische Universität Dresden have for the first time investigated the influence of the internal clock on everyday decision making. In a behavioral experiment, they were able to show that people learn temporal structures and can use them for decision-making. With this study, the team around Prof. Stefan Kiebel makes an important contribution to the understanding of human learning and its application in computer models.

Precisely timed behavior and accurate time perception plays a critical role in our everyday lives, as our wellbeing and even survival can depend on well-timed decisions. Although the temporal structure of the world around us is essential for human decision making, we know surprisingly little about how representation of temporal structure of our everyday environment impacts decision making. How does the representation of temporal structure affect our ability to generate well-timed decisions? Here we address this question by using a well-established dynamic probabilistic learning task. Using computational modeling, we found that human subjects' beliefs about temporal structure are reflected in their choices to either exploit their current knowledge or to explore novel options. The model-based analysis illustrates a large within-group and within-subject heterogeneity. To explain these results, we propose a normative model for how temporal structure is used in decision making, based on the semi-Markov formalism in the active inference framework. We discuss potential key applications of the presented approach to the fields of cognitive phenotyping and computational psychiatry.

Original puplication:
Marković Dimitrije, Reiter Andrea M. F., Kiebel Stefan J. Revealing human sensitivity to a latent temporal structure of changes. Front. Behav. Neurosci., 17 October 2022
Sec. Learning and Memory
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2022.962494/full

Contact
Prof. Dr. Stefan Kiebel
Chair of Neuroimaging
Phone: +49 (0)351 - 431 45
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