The Role of Emotion and Rationality in Decision Making: A Neuroscientific Perspective, Slides of Cognitive Psychology

Download The Role of Emotion and Rationality in Decision Making: A Neuroscientific Perspective and more Slides Cognitive Psychology in PDF only on Docsity! How We Decide Docsity.com • Important question: when to use rationality vs. intuition Docsity.com • metacognition: only in humans (??) • done by “newer” parts of brain; still have a lot of “bugs” • older parts of brain debugged much longer Docsity.com • dopamine—pleasure centers; helps regulate all emotions & helps us decide • Shultz: “prediction neurons” • if expectation confirmed: increased firing rate of “dopamine neurons” Docsity.com • if expectation disconfirmed: decreased firing rate of dopamine neurons = prediction error signal • also: if expectation disconfirmed--anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)—error-related negativity signal (“oh, shit” circuit) • unexpected result focuses attention • ACC remembers feedback and adjusts expectations Docsity.com Iowa Gambling Task • two types of card decks • one high risk, one conservative • conservative has higher long-term payoff • 10 cards: GSR increase for risky deck • 50 cards: start choosing conservative deck more often • 80 cards: can explain deck preference Docsity.com Deliberate Practice • best for improving decisions • focus on mistakes, not successes • “self criticism is the secret to self improvement” • Dunning—”incompetence” & need to use external feedback • Dweck studies Docsity.com When do emotions mislead us? • gambling: anticipation of reward excites dopamine system (note Parkinson’s ex.) • unpredictable rewards—tend not to adapt • incorrect beliefs cause incorrect expecations & actions • e.g., hot hand in basketball • e.g., finding patterns that are not there (T maze ex.) Docsity.com emotions misleading us • adjustable loans • smaller payment NOW: midbrain emotion areas • larger payment LATER: prefrontal cortex for rational planning • decision based on which is more active brain area Docsity.com emotions misleading us • Evolutionary psych “mismatch hypothesis” • our emotions evolved to solve adaptive problems in our evolutionary past; they may not be well-suited to decisions we make in modern life (as described by Loewenstein) Docsity.com “Nudge” • Thaler: we should design choice programs to make good decisions more likely • e.g., his “save more tomorrow” program: ask employees to opt into savings plan that will start in a few months • opt-out vs. opt-in programs Docsity.com When to think less • too much analysis—focus on variables that don’t matter • poster we are happy with should be based on emotion, not logic Docsity.com When to think less • wine tasting: if know brand or price, it affects our rating • should choose blind to get what we actually like best Docsity.com ways we are bad at math • serving sizes affect how much we eat & drink • how far would you drive to save $15? • Ariely study & Social Security nos. Docsity.com Moral Decisions • are based on emotions • reasons (rationality) comes later • siblings example • personal vs. impersonal decisions: trolley examples • animal examples of fairness sensitivity Docsity.com games and fairness • ultimatum game • dictator game • most people make fair offer to a person Docsity.com brain and decisions • Bechara—brain areas compete for control • competition is mostly unconscious • Knutson & Loewenstein study—consumer choice • nucleus accumbens—dopamine pathways • insula—aversion • prefrontal cortex—rational analysis Docsity.com existing beliefs • confirmation bias—avoid info that contradicts existing beliefs; seek confirming info • study: evaluate contradictions by Bush & Kerry Docsity.com existing beliefs • self delusion “feels good” because we enjoy feeling certain • another author: overconfidence is worst cognitive bias • professional pundits study—predictions worse than chance; most famous were worst predictors Docsity.com existing beliefs • ideologies can make people disregard contradictory info • “prisoners of their preconceptions” • real experts learn from dissonant data Docsity.com