Building momentum: A computational account of persistence toward long-term goals

Sneha Aenugu, John O'Doherty

Abstract:

Extended goals necessitate extended commitment. We address how humans select
between multiple goals in a temporally extended setting. We probe whether humans
engage in prospective valuation of goals by estimating which goals are likely to yield
future success and choosing those, or whether they rely on a less optimal retrospec-
tive strategy, favoring goals with greater accumulated progress even if less likely to
result in success. To address this, we introduce a novel task in which goals need to be
persistently selected until a set target is reached to earn an overall reward. In a series
of experiments, we show that human goal selection involves a mix of prospective and
retrospective influences, with an undue bias in favor of retrospective valuation. We
show that a goal valuation model utilizing the concept of ‘momentum’, where progress
accrued toward a goal builds value and persists across trials, successfully explains
human behavior better than alternative frameworks. Our findings thus suggest an impor-
tant role for momentum in explaining the valuation process underpinning human goal
selection.