Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Motivation and Learning
- The Cambridge Handbook of Motivation and Learning
- Copyright page
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction Motivation and Its Relation to Learning
- Part I The Self and Its Impact
- Part II Rewards, Incentives, and Choice
- 6 Neuroscientific and Psychological Approaches to Incentives
- 7 Incentive Motivation
- 8 Attention, Information-Seeking, and Active Sampling
- 9 Open Digital Badges and Reward Structures
- 10 The Promise and Peril of Choosing for Motivation and Learning
- Part III Interest and Internal Motivation
- Part IV Curiosity and Boredom
- Part V Goals and Values
- Part VI Methods, Measures, and Perspective
- Index
- References
7 - Incentive Motivation
The Missing Piece between Learning and Behavior
from Part II - Rewards, Incentives, and Choice
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2019
- The Cambridge Handbook of Motivation and Learning
- The Cambridge Handbook of Motivation and Learning
- Copyright page
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction Motivation and Its Relation to Learning
- Part I The Self and Its Impact
- Part II Rewards, Incentives, and Choice
- 6 Neuroscientific and Psychological Approaches to Incentives
- 7 Incentive Motivation
- 8 Attention, Information-Seeking, and Active Sampling
- 9 Open Digital Badges and Reward Structures
- 10 The Promise and Peril of Choosing for Motivation and Learning
- Part III Interest and Internal Motivation
- Part IV Curiosity and Boredom
- Part V Goals and Values
- Part VI Methods, Measures, and Perspective
- Index
- References
Summary
In the behavioral sciences, it is common to explain behavior in terms of what was learned in a task, as if any subsequent change in performance had to denote a change in learning. However, learning alone cannot account for variability in performance. Instead, incentive motivation plays a direct role (and is more effective) in controlling moment-to-moment changes in an individual's responses than the learning process. After briefly introducing the history of the study of incentive motivation, we explain that incentive motivation consists of a dopamine-dependent process that does not require consciousness to influence responding to a task. We analyze two Pavlovian situations in which incentive motivation can modulate performance, irrespective of additional learning: the instant transformation of disgust into attraction for salt and the invigoration of responses under reward uncertainty. Finally, we consider drug addiction as an example of motivational dysregulation rather than as a consequence of the habit to consume substances of abuse.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge Handbook of Motivation and Learning , pp. 163 - 182Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019
References
- 6
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