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Goal congruency dominates reward value in accounting for behavioral and neural correlates of value-based decision-making

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  • Romy Frömer

    (Brown University)

  • Carolyn K. Dean Wolf

    (Brown University)

  • Amitai Shenhav

    (Brown University)

Abstract

When choosing between options, whether menu items or career paths, we can evaluate how rewarding each one will be, or how congruent it is with our current choice goal (e.g., to point out the best option or the worst one.). Past decision-making research interpreted findings through the former lens, but in these experiments the most rewarding option was always most congruent with the task goal (choosing the best option). It is therefore unclear to what extent expected reward vs. goal congruency can account for choice value findings. To deconfound these two variables, we performed three behavioral studies and an fMRI study in which the task goal varied between identifying the best vs. the worst option. Contrary to prevailing accounts, we find that goal congruency dominates choice behavior and neural activity. We separately identify dissociable signals of expected reward. Our findings call for a reinterpretation of previous research on value-based choice.

Suggested Citation

  • Romy Frömer & Carolyn K. Dean Wolf & Amitai Shenhav, 2019. "Goal congruency dominates reward value in accounting for behavioral and neural correlates of value-based decision-making," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-11, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:10:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-019-12931-x
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12931-x
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    Cited by:

    1. Colin W. Hoy & David R. Quiroga-Martinez & Eduardo Sandoval & David King-Stephens & Kenneth D. Laxer & Peter Weber & Jack J. Lin & Robert T. Knight, 2023. "Asymmetric coding of reward prediction errors in human insula and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-14, December.
    2. Frederick Callaway & Antonio Rangel & Thomas L Griffiths, 2021. "Fixation patterns in simple choice reflect optimal information sampling," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(3), pages 1-29, March.
    3. Eleanor Holton & Jan Grohn & Harry Ward & Sanjay G. Manohar & Jill X. O’Reilly & Nils Kolling, 2024. "Goal commitment is supported by vmPFC through selective attention," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 8(7), pages 1351-1365, July.
    4. Nir Moneta & Mona M. Garvert & Hauke R. Heekeren & Nicolas W. Schuck, 2023. "Task state representations in vmPFC mediate relevant and irrelevant value signals and their behavioral influence," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-21, December.

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