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. 2013 Feb;21(1):66-73.
doi: 10.1037/a0030843. Epub 2012 Dec 17.

Smoking and the bandit: a preliminary study of smoker and nonsmoker differences in exploratory behavior measured with a multiarmed bandit task

Merideth A Addicott  1 , John M Pearson, Jessica Wilson, Michael L Platt, F Joseph McClernon
Affiliations

Smoking and the bandit: a preliminary study of smoker and nonsmoker differences in exploratory behavior measured with a multiarmed bandit task

Merideth A Addicott et al. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2013 Feb.

Abstract

Advantageous decision-making is an adaptive trade-off between exploring alternatives and exploiting the most rewarding option. This trade-off may be related to maladaptive decision-making associated with nicotine dependence; however, explore/exploit behavior has not been previously investigated in the context of addiction. The explore/exploit trade-off is captured by the multiarmed bandit task, in which different arms of a slot machine are chosen to discover the relative payoffs. The goal of this study was to preliminarily investigate whether smokers differ from nonsmokers in their degree of exploratory behavior. Smokers (n = 18) and nonsmokers (n = 17) completed a 6-armed bandit task as well as self-report measures of behavior and personality traits. Smokers were found to exhibit less exploratory behavior (i.e., made fewer switches between slot machine arms) than nonsmokers within the first 300 trials of the bandit task. The overall proportion of exploratory choices negatively correlated with self-reported measures of delay aversion and nonplanning impulsivity. These preliminary results suggest that smokers make fewer initial exploratory choices on the bandit task. The bandit task is a promising measure that could provide valuable insights into how nicotine use and dependence is associated with explore/exploit decision-making.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors Addicott, Pearson, Wilson, Platt, and McClernon have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Point values for the first 100 trials of the bandit task. Participants selected one of six slot machine arms to play per trial. The number of points paid off by each slot machine gradually changed from trial to trial, independently of other machines. The pattern of point values was determined according to a biased random walk (Equation 1). Each line represents the point values for a single slot machine. Dots represent the selections made by a representative subject.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The proportion of exploratory choices made on the bandit task by non-smokers and smokers. Shown are the estimated marginal means of the average percentage of exploratory choices per block of 300 trials (controlling for education). Smokers made significantly fewer exploratory choices in the first block compared to non-smokers (*p < 0.05). Error bars are S.E.M.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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