Motivational Control of Habits: A Preregistered fMRI Study

Habitual action is typically distinguished from goal-directed action by its insensitivity to changes in reward value. There is an ongoing discussion whether this insensitivity is an intrinsic design feature of habits or, rather, a function of the cognitive system that controls these action tendencies. Our preregistered study investigated this issue using functional magnetic resonance imaging of brain activity before and after a reward devaluation in an outcome-selective Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) paradigm. Based on the expected-value-of-control theory, it was hypothesised that neural activity of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) would increase during the presentations of Pavlovian cues associated with a devalued outcome, reflecting increased control allocation in situations predictive of a devalued reward. The behavioral results confirmed an outcome-selective PIT effect that was abolished by devaluing the associated outcome. Contrary to our hypothesis, neuroimaging data revealed that dACC activity decreased during presentations of the associated cue. A comparable reduction was also observed in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the putamen. These findings suggest that the current reward value was accessed during the transfer tests and that devaluation of the action outcome did not enhance cognitive control over associated response tendencies.

The study plan and data analyses were peer-reviewed prior to data collection by Peer Community In: Registered Reports (PCI:RR). The Preregistered Stage 1 protocol is available at https://osf.io/k8ygb (date of in-principle acceptance: 08-02-2022; https://rr.peercommunityin.org/articles/rec?id=140). The Stage 2 report was recommended after peer review by PCI:RR at https://doi.org/10.24072/pci.rr.101079 (date of recommendation: 08-07-2025).