TY - JOUR TI - Momentary subjective well-being depends on learning and not reward AU - Blain, Bastien AU - Rutledge, Robb B A2 - Lee, Daeyeol A2 - Gold, Joshua I A2 - Lee, Daeyeol VL - 9 PY - 2020 DA - 2020/11/17 SP - e57977 C1 - eLife 2020;9:e57977 DO - 10.7554/eLife.57977 UR - https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.57977 AB - Subjective well-being or happiness is often associated with wealth. Recent studies suggest that momentary happiness is associated with reward prediction error, the difference between experienced and predicted reward, a key component of adaptive behaviour. We tested subjects in a reinforcement learning task in which reward size and probability were uncorrelated, allowing us to dissociate between the contributions of reward and learning to happiness. Using computational modelling, we found convergent evidence across stable and volatile learning tasks that happiness, like behaviour, is sensitive to learning-relevant variables (i.e. probability prediction error). Unlike behaviour, happiness is not sensitive to learning-irrelevant variables (i.e. reward prediction error). Increasing volatility reduces how many past trials influence behaviour but not happiness. Finally, depressive symptoms reduce happiness more in volatile than stable environments. Our results suggest that how we learn about our world may be more important for how we feel than the rewards we actually receive. KW - subjective well-being KW - happiness KW - dopamine KW - prediction error KW - learning KW - decision JF - eLife SN - 2050-084X PB - eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd ER -