Control of Behaviour by Competing Learning Systems

The force of habit has been studied in many diary investigations of real‐life behaviours. A meta‐analysis supports the notion that frequent repetition leads to a shift from goal‐directed control towards habit, by showing that behavioural intentions are a weaker predictor of actions that are performed frequently than those that are performed rarely. The development of well‐controlled experimental paradigms to assess the goal‐directed/habitual status of instrumental action has made it possible to study their neural basis. In line with animal lesioning research, human neuroimaging research has provided evidence for dissociable corticostriatal pathways that underlie goal‐directed versus habitual action control. Dual‐system theory provides a theoretical framework for understanding the role of habit in psychopathologies, especially those that involve compulsive behavior that persists despite one's awareness of far‐reaching negative consequences. To date, investigations of habit have been conducted separately but in parallel in the fields of social psychology, experimental psychology, and behavioural neuroscience.