Understanding active sampling strategies: empirical approaches and implications for attention and decision research

Publication date: Available online 24 August 2017
Source:Cortex
Author(s): Jacqueline Gottlieb
In natural behavior we actively gather information using attention and active sensing behaviors (such as shifts of gaze) to sample relevant cues. However, while attention and decision making are naturally coordinated, in the laboratory they have been dissociated. Attention is studied independently of the actions it serves. Conversely, decision theories make the simplifying assumption that the relevant information is given to the decision maker, and do not attempt to describe how she may learn and implement active sampling policies. In this paper I review recent studies that address questions of attentional learning, cue validity and information seeking in humans and non-human primates. These studies suggest that learning a sampling policy involves large scale interactions between networks of attention and valuation, and that these policies are motivated by reward maximization, uncertainty reduction and the intrinsic utility of cognitive states. I discuss the importance of using such paradigms for formalizing the role of attention and devising more realistic theories of decision making that capture a broader range of empirical observations.



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