Childhood unpredictability and the development of exploration
dc.contributor.author | Xu, Y. | |
dc.contributor.author | Harms, M.B. | |
dc.contributor.author | Green, C.S. | |
dc.contributor.author | Wilson, R.C. | |
dc.contributor.author | Pollak, S.D. | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2024-03-22T02:46:27Z | |
dc.date.available | 2024-03-22T02:46:27Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2023-11-27 | |
dc.identifier.citation | Xu, Y., Harms, M. B., Green, C. S., Wilson, R. C., & Pollak, S. D. (2023). Childhood unpredictability and the development of exploration. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(49), e2303869120. | |
dc.identifier.issn | 1091-6490 | |
dc.identifier.pmid | 38011553 | |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.1073/pnas.2303869120 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10150/671556 | |
dc.description.abstract | Early in development, the process of exploration helps children gather new information that fosters learning about the world. Yet, it is unclear how childhood experiences may influence the way humans approach new learning. What influences decisions to exploit known, familiar options versus trying a novel alternative? We found that childhood unpredictability, characterized by unpredictable caregiving and unstable living environments, was associated with reduced exploratory behavior. This effect holds while controlling for individual differences, including anxiety and stress. Individuals who perceived their childhoods as unpredictable explored less and were instead more likely to repeat previous choices (habitual responding). They were also more sensitive to uncertainty than to potential rewards, even when the familiar options yielded lower rewards. We examined these effects across multiple task contexts and via both in-person (N = 78) and online replication (N = 84) studies among 10- to 13-y-olds. Results are discussed in terms of the potential cascading effects of unpredictable environments on the development of decision-making and the effects of early experience on subsequent learning. | |
dc.language.iso | en | |
dc.publisher | The National Academy of Science (NAS) | |
dc.rights | © 2023 the Author(s). Published by PNAS. This open access article is distributed under CreativeCommons Attribution License 4.0 (CC BY). | |
dc.rights.uri | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | |
dc.subject | cognitive flexibility | |
dc.subject | decision-making | |
dc.subject | development | |
dc.subject | exploration | |
dc.subject | unpredictability | |
dc.title | Childhood unpredictability and the development of exploration | |
dc.type | Article | |
dc.type | text | |
dc.contributor.department | Department of Psychology, University of Arizona | |
dc.contributor.department | Cognitive Science Program, University of Arizona | |
dc.identifier.journal | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America | |
dc.description.note | Open access article | |
dc.description.collectioninformation | This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu. | |
dc.eprint.version | Final Published Version | |
dc.source.journaltitle | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America | |
refterms.dateFOA | 2024-03-22T02:46:27Z |