ArticleNPJ science of learning2025
Delayed rewards weaken human goal directed actions.
Article in NPJ science of learning, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Tailored personas for self-management in home-based rehabilitation for participants with lower limb lymphedema: A qualitative study.International journal of nursing studies advances · 2026Article
- Human goal-directed behavior is resistant to interventions on the action-outcome contingency.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Deciding for others diminishes model-based decision-making but depends on individual prosociality.NPJ science of learning · 2026Article
- Does the Habit Theory of Addictions Extend to Disordered Gambling?Current addiction reports · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Goal-directed actions are sensitive to the causal association between actions and outcomes, as well as the value of those outcomes. Such sensitivity diminishes when actions become habitual. Based on recent findings in animals, we tested if delaying outcomes relative to actions would weaken sensitivity to outcome revaluation and reduce action rates. In three experiments (N = 290), participants made fictitious investments in companies within contexts that provided either immediate or delayed feedback. After training, participants were informed of a change in markets which affected both companies (one improved and the other worsened). Across all experiments, action rates were lower in the delayed-feedback condition, and outcome revaluation was stronger in the immediate-feedback condition. In addition, self-reported action-outcome knowledge was weaker in the delayed-feedback condition. These findings suggest that delays in reinforcement weaken the action-outcome association critical for goal-directed control. We discuss the potential mechanisms underlying this phenomenon in light of a contemporary theory of goal-directed behavior.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.