Regulatory Focus and Classification Learning 1 Regulatory Focus Effects on Cognitive Flexibility in Rule-Based Classification Learning
نویسندگان
چکیده
This paper builds a bridge between research on regulatory focus in motivation and classification learning. It tests the hypothesis that a promotion focus leads to greater cognitive flexibility than a prevention focus and that the fit between the regulatory focus-induced processing characteristics and the nature of the environment influence performance. Experiment 1’s environment is one in which a high level of cognitive flexibility should be advantageous and Experiment 2’s environment is one in which a high level of cognitive flexibility should be disadvantageous. As predicted, promotion focus participants showed better learning in Experiment 1 but worse learning in Experiment 2. Model-based analyses indicated that qualitative shifts in strategy from simple uni-dimensional rules to complex conjunctive rules were associated with the superior performance of promotion focused subjects observed in Experiment 1. The deficit observed for promotion focus participants in Experiment 2 was due to highly variable criterion memory and trial-to-trial placement. Implications for current theories of motivation and classification learning are discussed.
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