Suppression of the old pattern predicts relearning-old success positively under punishment but negatively under reinforcement¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · causal r2 · q3 · i2–i3
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i2 In Experiment 1, Pre-During OBR suppression correlated positively with Post win rates in the relearning old condition after wins (r = .361). → Zhang 2026 q3 i3 In Experiment 2 (75% reinforcement), suppression correlated negatively with relearning-old Post win rates after wins (r = -.372) and losses (r = -.351). → Zhang 2026 (2)

Evidence¶

Zhang 2026¶

Zhang, Y., & Dyson, B. J. (2026). Recover or discover: How outcome feedback shapes response patterns within game spaces. npj Science of Learning. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-026-00414-w

q3 · i2 · causal · r2

Experiment 1 (n = 76) correlational analysis: suppression predicted relearning-old Post win rate after wins, "r = .361, p < .001", which the authors describe as inconsistent with their original prediction.

"OBR suppression between Pre - During was also positively correlated with Post phase win rates in the relearning old condition following wins (r = .361, p < .001) but not following losses (r = .065, p = .577)."

Zhang 2026 (2)¶

Zhang, Y., & Dyson, B. J. (2026). Recover or discover: How outcome feedback shapes response patterns within game spaces. npj Science of Learning. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-026-00414-w

q3 · i3 · causal · r2

Experiment 2 (75% reinforcement, n = 72 analysed): suppression negatively correlated with relearning-old Post win rate after wins (r = -.372) and losses (r = -.351), attributed to the reinforcement received in the During phase.

"the degree of OBR suppression was now significantly and negatively correlated with Post phase win rate when relearning old information both after wins (r = -.372, p < .001) and after losses (r = -.351, p = .003; Figure 2d)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Fixing the win rate in the During phase reduces optimal behaviour rates, indicating suppression of the previously learned pattern — related
• Suppression of the Pre response pattern between Pre and During phases positively predicts Post phase win rates when learning a new pattern, mainly after wins — related
• High reinforcement (75%, 88% fixed win rate) maintains a relearning-old advantage in Post phase win rates and OBR — related
• Relearning an old response pattern generally beats learning a new one in the Post phase, except under severe 25% punishment — related