Context sensitivity of incentive value
Incentive value (also referred to as utility or subjective value) is a key construct of theories of decision making and motivation. Many perspectives (e.g., reinforcement learning and associative learning) often assume that certain stimuli (unconditioned stimuli) are imbued with an incentive value that is fixed. However, recent accounts have proposed the notion that incentive value is a function of the distribution of incentives expected within a context. In this talk, I will discuss these recent accounts, and present behavioural data in support of their predictions. I will also present recent data on how context sensitivity of incentive value is realized in the brain. These highlight a critical role of hippocampus in processing contextual information, and of dopaminergic midbrain in representing a value signal modulated by the contextual distribution of incentives.
Date:
8 May 2018, 13:00
Venue:
Biology South Parks Road, South Parks Road OX1 3RB
Venue Details:
Schlich Lecture Theatre
Speaker:
Francesco Rigoli (City University, London)
Organising department:
Department of Experimental Psychology
Organiser:
Chris Summerfield (University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address:
chris.summerfield@psy.ox.ac.uk
Part of:
Department of Experimental Psychology - Cognitive & Behavioural Neuroscience Seminar series (BEACON)
Topics:
Booking required?:
Not required
Audience:
Members of the University only
Editor:
Anna Caughey
