It Was Not MY Fault: Event-Related Brain Potentials in Active and Observational Learning from Feedback

Performance feedback during learning is accompanied by a negative event-related potentials (ERP) component, the feedback-related negativity (FRN), which codes a reward prediction error. An open issue relates to the coding of feedback stimuli in observational learning. The present study aimed to determine differences in the neural processing of feedback in active and observational learners in a between-subjects design. By choosing between different stimuli, 15 active learners could learn a rule determining the probability of monetary reward. Each of the 15 observers was yoked to the performance of one active learner. In test trials, observers could prove whether they had gained insight into the rule. Although both groups learned at a comparable rate, FRN amplitudes following negative feedback were significantly reduced in observational relative to active learners, whereas there was no difference for the FRN in response to positive feedback. Additionally, between-group differences were already observed in the time window preceding the FRN, between 150 and 220 ms after feedback onset. The processing of feedback stimuli thus depends upon the direct relevance for one's own action planning. The FRN as an error signal indicating the need for behavioral adaptation appears to be especially relevant, if negative feedback is linked to agency.