Step through the paradigms

The battery is built from five classic behavioural paradigms. Each was designed to probe behaviour that memorised responses would not explain.

• Pre-registered

  Protocol details and pass criteria are pre-registered and stay private until release.

• Text version

  The text version, with the fairness rules, is in Test battery.

1. T1 Latent learning
2. T2 Detour
3. T3 Shortcut
4. T4 Structural transfer
5. T5 Transitive inference

T1 Latent learning

After Tolman (1948)

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Fig. T1 An illustration, not a result.

Exploration carries no reward. A goal is introduced afterwards.

The question The test asks whether what was learned during reward-free exploration is available as soon as the goal appears.

1. 01 Explore Reward-free exploration: the trail covers the space, no goal exists yet.
2. 02 Goal introduced After exploration, a goal is introduced.
3. 03 Direct route The direct route to the goal.

Pause T1 steps

Reward-free exploration: the trail covers the space, no goal exists yet.

T2 Detour

After Tolman and Honzik (1930)

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Fig. T2 An illustration, not a result.

After the space is learned, a familiar route is blocked.

The question The test asks whether the agent turns to a suitable alternative, using what it already knows about the environment.

1. 01 Usual route The learned, shortest route to the goal.
2. 02 Door closes A door on that route closes.
3. 03 Detour Another known route to the goal.

Pause T2 steps

The learned, shortest route to the goal.

T3 Shortcut

After Tolman, Ritchie and Kalish (1946)

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Fig. T3 An illustration, not a result.

A direct route that was not available during exploration becomes available.

The question The test asks whether the agent takes a direct route between places it knows but has never travelled between directly.

1. 01 Known route During exploration the passage is closed; the only route is long.
2. 02 Passage opens The passage opens.
3. 03 Shortcut The new, shorter route through the opened passage.

Pause T3 steps

During exploration the passage is closed; the only route is long.

T4 Structural transfer

Learning a layout once and reusing it

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Fig. T4 An illustration, not a result.

A second environment shares the layout of the first but not its observations.

The question The test asks whether structure learned in the first speeds learning in the second.

1. 01 Environment one The first environment, with its own observations.
2. 02 Environment two Same layout, new observations everywhere.

Pause T4 steps

The first environment, with its own observations.

T5 Transitive inference

For example, Dusek and Eichenbaum (1997)

Fig. T5 An illustration, not a result.

Only neighbouring pairs of an ordered chain are trained.

The question The test asks whether the agent orders a pair it never saw together, such as B and D in the classic studies.

1. 01 Training pairs Only neighbouring pairs are shown: A and B, B and C, C and D, D and E.
2. 02 Test pair A pair never seen together: B and D.

Pause T5 steps

Only neighbouring pairs are shown: A and B, B and C, C and D, D and E.