Perspectives in 2024

Environments shape reward learning, which can result in individual differences in behaviour. In this Perspective, Nussenbaum and Hartley consider the development of reward learning through the lens of meta-learning models, in particular meta-reinforcement learning.

Experiences of objects and features are biased to appear more like previously seen stimuli than they really are. In this Perspective, Manassi and Whitney describe this phenomenon of positive serial dependence and propose continuity fields as the underlying mechanism.

Theories of how human cognition differs from that of non-human animals often posit domain-specific advantages. In this Perspective, Cantlon and Piantadosi posit that differences in domain-general information capacity underlie uniquely human capacities.

Off-job recovery and optimal work motivation are vital for reducing or avoiding work stress and promoting occupational health and work performance. In this Perspective, Kujanpää and Olafsen propose a dual-pathway model of proactive recovery strategies that delineates how individuals can self-manage their off-job time through proactive recovery strategies to optimize motivation across life domains.

Social emotions such as guilt and gratitude serve adaptive functions critical to social interactions and relationships. In this Perspective, Yu and colleagues argue that to advance a mechanistic understanding of social emotions, an integrative approach is needed that considers goals and functions, cognitive operations and biological implementation.