Are Risky Choices Guided by a Compensatory Process?
Author Information
Author(s): Rao Li-Lin, Zhou Yuan, Xu Lijuan, Liang Zhu-Yuan, Jiang Tianzi, Li Shu
Primary Institution: Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Hypothesis
The study investigates whether risky decision-making is guided by a compensatory process as suggested by mainstream theories.
Conclusion
The study provides neural evidence that preferential choice cannot be characterized solely as a compensatory process.
Supporting Evidence
- The dMPFC was identified as the brain region responsible for task-related conflict in risky decision-making tasks.
- Participants took more time to make judgment-based choices than preferential choices.
- Behavioral results indicated that participants chose more evenly as the unidimensional difference between bets decreased in the judgment-based choice task.
Takeaway
When people make risky choices, they might not always weigh the odds and payoffs like we think; sometimes they just pick what feels right.
Methodology
The study used fMRI to compare brain activity during preferential and judgment-based choice tasks involving risky decisions.
Limitations
The study only performed a global check rather than a trial-by-trial check of participants' certainty equivalence estimates.
Participant Demographics
Twenty-six undergraduate or graduate students (11 males, mean age 22 years, SD 2.81) participated.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.05
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Want to read the original?
Access the complete publication on the publisher's website