A cognitive basis for theories of intrinsic motivation

Since intelligent agents make choices based on both external rewards and intrinsic motivations, the structure of a realistic decision theory should also present as an indirect model of intrinsic motivation. We have recently proposed a model of sequential choice-making that is grounded in well-articulated cognitive principles. In this paper, we show how our model of choice selection predicts behavior that matches the predictions of state-of-the-art intrinsic motivation models, providing both a clear causal mechanism for explaining its effects and testable predictions for situations where its predictions differ from those of existing models. Our results provide a unified cognitively grounded explanation for phenomena that are currently explained using different theories of motivation, creativity and attention.