‘If your mouth is burned by milk, you blow before you eat yogurt’ (‘Sütten ağzı yanan yoğurdu üfleyerek yer’). This Turkish proverb advises caution based on past experiences when similar situations are encountered. However, although we may infer similarities across experiences, each situation is a complex combination of many features, and generalizing across situations based on perceived similarities may not achieve desired outcomes when obtaining them depends on more subtle or overlooked features. Here, we examine how models of generalization can uncover the model-based (MB) processes underlying reactive and rigid behaviors traditionally considered model-free (MF). Our novel conceptualization suggests that emotionally driven impulsive behaviors stem from a propensity to overgeneralize based on surface-level similarities, hindering the incorporation of other informative, discriminant cues.
