Through the process of "reconsolidation," reminders can temporarily destabilize memories and render them vulnerable to change. Recent rodent research has proposed that prediction error, or element surprise, is a key component this process; yet, hypothesis never before been extended complex episodic in humans. In our novel paradigm, we used naturalistic stimuli demonstrate error enables adaptive updating memories. Study 1, participants (N = 48) viewed 18 videos, each depicting an...

Significance Our brains draw on memories to predict the future; when our predictions are incorrect, we must update improve future predictions. Past studies have demonstrated that hippocampus signals prediction error (i.e., surprise) but not linked this neural signal memory updating. Here, uncover missing connection. We show mnemonic errors change role of hippocampus, reversing relationship between hippocampal activation and outcomes. examine mechanisms shift in processing, showing disrupt...

Bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccines, developed to protect against both ancestral and Omicron BA.4/BA.5 variants, are recommended increase protection SARS-CoV-2 infection severe disease* (1,2). However, relatively few eligible U.S. adults have received a bivalent dose (3), reasons for low coverage unclear. An opt-in Internet survey of 1,200 COVID-19-vaccinated was conducted assess receiving or not dose. Participants could select multiple from list suggested report why they had The most common...

Well-informed individual and collective decision-making is aided by access to high-quality, factual information. What motivates people share high-quality news, how can these motives be leveraged promote news sharing? Based on the theory that self-related social encourage sharing behavior, we designed tested interventions increase sharing. In interventions, individuals were exposed actual stories prompted identify why content was relevant themselves (self-relevance) or they know (social...

Abstract Objective Intellectual humility (IH) refers to the recognition that personal beliefs might be wrong. We investigate possible interpersonal implications of IH for how people perceive intellectual capabilities and moral character their sociopolitical opponents willingness associate with those opponents. Method In four initial studies ( N = 1,926, M age 38, 880 females, 1,035 males), we measured IH, derogation opponents, befriend two additional 568, 40, 252 314 presented participants a...

The COVID-19 pandemic reached staggering new peaks during a global resurgence more than year after the crisis began. Although public health guidelines initially helped to slow spread of disease, widespread fatigue and prolonged harm financial stability mental well-being contributed this resurgence. In late stage pandemic, it became clear that interventions were needed support long-term behavior change. Here, we examined subjective perceived risk about relationship between engagement in risky...

Well-informed individual and collective decision-making is aided by access to high-quality, factual information. What motivates people share high-quality news how can these motives be leveraged promote sharing? Based on the theory that self-related social encourage sharing behavior, we designed tested interventions increase sharing. In interventions, individuals were exposed actual stories prompted identify why content was relevant themselves (self-relevance) or they know (social relevance)....

Negativity motivates people to read and share news, but can also harm mental health discourage action. We tested an alternate route engagement—evoking positive emotions by emphasizing action address a problem. In two experiments, we adapted environmental news headlines feature different aspects of each story, Crisis or Action. Both Action framing (and negative emotions, respectively) motivated reading sharing, relative the unaltered headlines. Crucially, consistent with theoretical...

Mitigating climate change requires urgent action at individual, collective, and institutional levels. However, individuals may fail to act because they perceive as a threat that is distant or not personally relevant, believe their actions are impactful. To address these psychological barriers, we conducted large-scale “intervention tournament.” In sample of 7,624 participants, systematically tested 17 interventions targeted mechanisms described by three key themes: Relevance, Future...

Motivation influences goals, decisions, and memory formation.

When confronted with information that challenges our beliefs, we must often learn from error in order to successfully navigate the world. Past studies reinforcement learning and educational psychology have linked prediction error, a measure of surprise, successful feedback. However, there are substantial individual differences belief-updating success, psychological factors influence belief updating remain unclear. Here, identify novel factor may predict updating: Right-Wing Authoritarianism...

During the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals depended on risk information to make decisions about everyday behaviors and public policy. Here, we assessed whether an interactive website influenced individuals’ tolerance support health goals. We collected data from 11,169 unique users who engaged with online Event Risk Tool ( https://covid19risk.biosci.gatech.edu/ ) between 9/22/21 1/22/22. The featured elements, including a dynamic map, survey questions, quiz accuracy feedback. After learning of...

Abstract Fake news can have enduring effects on memory and beliefs. An ongoing theoretical debate has investigated whether corrections (fact-checks) should include reminders of fake news. The familiarity backfire account proposes that hinder correction (increasing interference), whereas integration-based accounts argue facilitate (promoting integration). In three experiments, we examined how different types influenced for belief in headlines. the exposure phase, participants viewed real...

Rewards often unfold over time; we must summarize events in memory to guide future choices. Do first impressions matter most, or is it better end on a good note? Across nine studies (

Abstract The brain supports adaptive behavior by generating predictions, learning from errors, and updating memories to incorporate new information. Prediction error, or surprise, triggers when reality contradicts expectations. Prior studies have shown that the hippocampus signals prediction but hypothesized link memory has not been demonstrated. In a human fMRI study, we elicited mnemonic errors interrupting familiar narrative videos immediately before expected endings. We found error...

The COVID-19 pandemic reached staggering new peaks during a global resurgence more than year after the crisis began. Although public health guidelines initially helped to slow spread of disease, widespread fatigue and prolonged harm financial stability mental wellbeing contributed this resurgence. In late stage pandemic, it became clear that interventions were needed support long-term behavior change. Here, we examined subjective perceived risk about COVID-19, relationship between engagement...

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a serious and prolonged public-health emergency. Older adults have been at significantly greater risk of hospitalization, ICU admission, death due to COVID-19; as February 2021, over 81% COVID-19-related deaths in the U.S. occurred for people age 65. Converging evidence from around world suggests that is most significant factor severe illness experience adverse health outcomes. Therefore, effectively communicating health-related information requires...

During the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals have depended on risk information to make decisions about everyday behaviors and public policy. Here, we assessed whether an interactive website influenced individuals' tolerance support health goals. We collected data from 11,169 unique users who engaged with online Event Risk Tool (https://covid19risk.biosci.gatech.edu/) between 9/22/21 1/22/22. The featured elements, including a dynamic map, survey questions, quiz accuracy feedback. After learning...

Well-informed individual and collective decision-making is aided by access to high-quality, factual information. What motivates people share high-quality news how can these motives be leveraged promote sharing? Based on the theory that self-related social encourage sharing behavior, we designed tested interventions increase sharing. In interventions, individuals were exposed actual stories prompted identify why content was relevant themselves (self-relevance) or they know (social relevance)....

Mitigating climate change requires mass behavior change. However, individuals may fail to act because they perceive as a threat that is distant or not personally relevant, believe their actions are impactful. To address these barriers, we conducted an “intervention tournament.” In Phase 1 (N=7,473), tested 17 interventions targeted psychological mechanisms under three themes: Self- and Social-Relevance, Future Thinking, Action Impact. The most effective for motivating action involved...

Negativity captures attention and motivates people to read share news. However, negative messaging can harm mental health, bias distort memory, discourage action address a crisis. We tested an alternate route increasing engagement—evoking positive emotions by emphasizing problem. In three studies, we found that the emotional framing of news headlines about climate change influenced participants’ intentions news, real charitable donations, memory for content, real-world sharing on social...