How the value of the environment controls persistence in visual search

Author summaryClassic foraging theory predicts that humans and animals aim to gain maximum reward per unit time. However, in standard instrumental conditioning tasks individuals adopt an apparently suboptimal strategy: they respond slowly when the expected value is low. This reward-related bias is often explained as reduced motivation. Here we present evidence this behavior is associated with a complementary increased motivation to search the environment for alternatives. We found that the reward-related bias scaled with environment value, was in part caused by persistent searching after the target was already found, and was associated with increased exploration of objects in the environment. A novel computational model of foraging suggests that this search strategy would be adaptive in naturalistic settings where both environments and the objects within them provide partial information about hidden, uncertain rewards. Classic foraging theory predicts that humans and animals aim to gain maximum reward per unit time. However, in standard instrumental conditioning tasks individuals adopt an apparently suboptimal strategy: they respond slowly when the expected value is low. This reward-related bias is often explained as reduced motivation in response to low rewards. Here we present evidence this behavior is associated with a complementary increased motivation to search the environment for alternatives. We trained monkeys to search for reward-related visual targets in environments with different values. We found that the reward-related bias scaled with environment value, was consistent with persistent searching after the target was already found, and was associated with increased exploratory gaze to objects in the environment. A novel computational model of foraging suggests that this search strategy could be adaptive in naturalistic settings where both environments and the objects within them provide partial information about hidden, uncertain rewards.

Automated summary

This study found that individuals in standard instrumental conditioning tasks respond slowly when the expected value is low, which is associated with an increased motivation to search for alternatives in the environment. The reward-related bias scaled with environment value, was caused by persistent searching after target was found, and was linked to increased exploration of objects in the environment. A novel computational model of foraging suggests that this search strategy could be adaptive in naturalistic settings with uncertain rewards.