Nonlinear influence of reward volatility on arbitration between multiple learning strategies reflects cost-benefit optimization

Action selection involves two systems: a model-free reinforcement learning strategy, which relies on experience with action-outcome pairs, and a model-based reinforcement learning strategy, which enables more flexible behavior via inference using a model of the invariant environmental structure. Although environmental change requires more flexible behavior, the ability of volatility, a higher-order statistic that captures how rapidly or frequently the environment changes, to systematically modulate these strategies remains unclear. We examined the effects of reward volatility on arbitration between model-free and model-based reinforcement learning strategies using two modified two-step decision tasks. In Experiment 1, participants performed tasks with different levels of reward volatility and time pressure. In Experiment 2, we systematically manipulated reward volatility across a broader range to assess the relationship between volatility and learning strategy. Behavioral data were analyzed using model-agnostic one-trial and multitrial back analyses, reinforcement learning simulations, and hierarchical Bayesian model fitting. Across experiments, reward volatility exerted an inverse U-shaped nonlinear effect on the arbitration between model-free and model-based reinforcement learning strategies, as the model-based learning strategy was strongly driven at intermediate levels of reward volatility. These modulation effects were observed only in individuals who had learned the transition structure in the task, whereas those who had not learned the transition structure relied on the model-free learning strategy regardless of reward volatility. Reinforcement learning simulations revealed that the relative advantage of the model-based learning strategy over the model-free learning strategy peaked at intermediate levels of reward volatility. Additionally, increased time pressure shifted behavior toward the model-free learning strategy. These results demonstrated that, humans do not always use the model-based reinforcement learning strategy in uncertain and dynamic environments, even when they are aware of the task structure, supporting cost-benefit optimization. Author SummaryThe ability to flexibly guide behavior by carefully considering future consequences is fundamental to a prominent property of human intelligence and rationality. However, what drives this deliberative system? In this study, we investigated the factors that promote deliberative versus habitual behavior using decision-making tasks with uncertain structures and changing rewards. We found that participants who spontaneously learned the hidden transition structure in the task used this knowledge to guide deliberative behavior. Conversely, participants who did not learn the structure relied primarily on habitual strategies, repeating actions that had previously been rewarded. Among participants who learned the structure, the degree of deliberative behavior changed nonlinearly with reward volatility, in which the speed at which rewards changed over time. We also observed that limiting the decision time reduced deliberative behavior and promoted habitual responding. These findings suggest that under uncertain and dynamic environments, deliberative control is adaptively regulated according to cost-benefit optimization. Our results contribute to understanding how humans flexibly adjust their behavioral control systems in response to environmental conditions.