Competitive attitudes toward the observed player predict memory strength in experiential but not observational learning¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? In EL trials, competitiveness predicted memory performance (ß = 0.16, t = 2.50, p = 0.015), but in OL trials there was no evidence for an effect. → Maria A. Woitow 2026

Evidence¶

Maria A. Woitow 2026¶

Maria A. Woitow, Anthony I. Jang, Ben Eppinger, Matthew R. Nassar, Marcel Brass & Julia M. Rodriguez Buritica. (2026). Shared effects of one's own and others' experiences during reinforcement learning on episodic memory. npj Science of Learning 11:16. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-026-00409-7

q3 · i? · causal · r2

Exploratory debriefing analysis: participants categorized as competitive or non-competitive from happiness ratings about the other player's outcomes; competitiveness predicted memory in EL trials (ß = 0.16, t = 2.50, p = 0.015) but not OL trials (ß = 0.08, p = 0.25).

"In OL trials (Fig. 3d), there was no evidence for an effect on memory strength ( attitude: ß =0 . 0 8 ,t =1 . 1 7 ,p =0 . 2 5 ;αcorrected= 0.025; Supplementary Table 7). In contrast, in EL trials (Fig. 3e), competitiveness predicted memory perfor- mance (attitude: ß = 0.16,t = 2.50,p =0 . 0 1 5 ,αcorrected= 0.025)"

Discussion¶

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