Associative theories of goal-directed behaviour:a case for animal–human translational models

摘要

Associative accounts of goal-directed action,developed in the fields of human ideomotor action and thatof animal learning, can capture cognitive belief-desire psy-chology of human decision-making. Whereas outcome-response accounts can account for the fact that the thoughtof a goal can call to mind the action that has previously pro-cured this goal, response-outcome accounts capture deci-sion-making processes that start out with the considerationof possible response alternatives followed only in the sec-ond instance by evaluation of their consequences. We arguethat while the outcome-response mechanism plays a crucialrole in response priming effects, the response-outcomemechanism is particularly important for action selection onthe basis of current needs and desires. We therefore developan integrative account that encapsulates these two routes ofaction selection within the framework of the associative-cybernetic model. This model has the additional benefit ofproviding mechanisms for the incentive modulation ofgoal-directed action and for the development of behav-ioural autonomy, and therefore provides a promisingaccount of the multi-faceted process of animal as well ashuman instrumental decision-making.