Renewal of Goal Direction With a Context Change After Habit Learning

An instrumental action can be goal-directed after a moderate amount of practice and then convert to habit after more extensive practice. Recent evidence suggests, however, that habits can return to action status after different environmental manipulations. The present experiments therefore asked whether habit learning interferes with goal direction in a context-dependent manner like other types of retroactive interference (e.g., extinction, punishment, counterconditioning). In Experiment 1, rats were given a moderate amount of instrumental training to form an action in one context (Context A) and then more extended training of the same response to form a habit in another context (Context B). We then performed reinforcer devaluation with taste aversion conditioning in both contexts, and tested the response in both contexts. The response remained habitual in Context B, but was goal-directed in Context A, indicating renewal of goal direction after habit learning. Experiment 2 expanded on Experiment 1 by testing the response in a third context (Context C). It found that the habitual response also renewed as action in this context. Together, the results establish a parallel between habit and extinction learning: Conversion to habit does not destroy action knowledge, but interferes with it in a context-specific way. They are also consistent with other results suggesting that habit is specific to the context in which it is learned, whereas goal-direction can transfer between contexts.

Automated summary

Habit learning may interfere with goal direction in a context-specific manner, but does not destroy action knowledge. Goal-direction can transfer between contexts, while habit is specific to the context in which it is learned.