Flexible Control as Surrogate Reward or Dynamic Reward Maximization

Abstract

The utility of a given experience, like interacting with a particular friend or tasting a particular food, fluctuates continually according to homeostatic principles. Consequently, to maximize reward, an individual must be able to escape or attain outcomes as preferences change, by switching between actions. Recent work on human and artificial intelligence has defined such control in information theoretic terms. However, information theoretic measures do not necessarily correspond to an agent(&apos)s ability to escape or obtain sensory-specific states. In the current study, choice behavior was best described by a forward consideration of action values based on possible changes in outcome utilities. Consistent with previous work on agency and personality, individual differences in dimensional schizotypy were correlated with choice preferences in conditions with the greatest and lowest levels of instrumental control. The results contribute to a growing literature on the role of agency in goal-directed choice.