We Learn Faster When We Aren’t Told What Choices to Make

In a perfect world, we would use both success and failure as instructive lessons. But our brain doesn't learn that way. It learns more from some experiences than others.

Confirmation bias makes us prefer outcomes that we agree with, and a positivity bias causes us to focus on rewards more than punishments. New studies get to the bottom of these biases to find a role for choice.

A study found that choice had an apparent influence on decision-making. In the studies subjects learned more when they had a free choice and when the choice gave a higher reward.

However, when participants were forced to select a specific choice, they were less invested in the outcomes, similar to a child mindlessly practicing to please a parent.