Computational and Behavioral Markers of Model-Based Decision Making in Childhood

Autor/inn/en	Smid, Claire R.; Kool, Wouter; Hauser, Tobias U.; Steinbeis, Nikolaus
Titel	Computational and Behavioral Markers of Model-Based Decision Making in Childhood
Quelle	In: Developmental Science, 26 (2023) 2, (14 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Smid, Claire R.) ORCID (Kool, Wouter) ORCID (Hauser, Tobias U.) ORCID (Steinbeis, Nikolaus)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1363-755X
DOI	10.1111/desc.13295
Schlagwörter	Decision Making; Models; Abstract Reasoning; Young Children; Decision Making Skills; Thinking Skills; Child Development + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Decision-making; Entscheidungsfindung; Analogiemodell; Abstraktes Denken; Denken; Frühe Kindheit; Denkfähigkeit; Kindesentwicklung
Abstract	Human decision-making is underpinned by distinct systems that differ in flexibility and associated cognitive cost. A widely accepted dichotomy distinguishes between a cheap but rigid model-free system and a flexible but costly model-based system. Typically, humans use a hybrid of both types of decision-making depending on environmental demands. However, children's use of a model-based system during decision-making has not yet been shown. While prior developmental work has identified simple building blocks of model-based reasoning in young children (1-4 years old), there has been little evidence of this complex cognitive system influencing behavior before adolescence. Here, by using a modified task to make engagement in cognitively costly strategies more rewarding, we show that children aged 5-11-years (N = 85), including the youngest children, displayed multiple indicators of model-based decision making, and that the degree of its use increased throughout childhood. Unlike adults (N = 24), however, children did not display adaptive arbitration between model-free and model-based decision-making. Our results demonstrate that throughout childhood, children can engage in highly sophisticated and costly decision-making strategies. However, the flexible arbitration between decision-making strategies might be a critically late-developing component in human development. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01