Simulation-based learning influences real-life attitudes

Abstract

Humans can vividly simulate hypothetical experiences. This ability draws on our memories (e.g., of familiar people and locations) to construct imaginings that resemble real-life events (e.g., of meeting a person at a location). Here, we examine the hypothesis that we also learn from such simulated episodes much like from actual experiences. Specifically, we show that the mere simulation of meeting a familiar person (unconditioned stimulus; US) at a known location (conditioned stimulus; CS) changes how people value the location. We provide key evidence that this simulation-based learning strengthens pre-existing CS-US associations and that it leads to a transfer of valence from the US to the CS. The data thus highlight a mechanism by which we learn from simulated experiences.

The rosy future paradox: Positive future thinking without task relevance enhances negative biases and anxiety for aversive events

“…A recent study showed that future thinking can serve as a substitute for lived experience in updating pre-existing beliefs or attitudes. By imagining liked (or disliked) people together with a neutral location, participants changed their appraisal of the location towards the valence associated with the person (Paulus et al, 2021). Here, we show that such transfer of valence does not just apply to existing semantic representations, but also immediately affects the interpretation of new experiences that are semantically related.…”