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decision making

·November 7, 2024·5 min read

Brain Struggles with Conflicting Information in Schizophrenia

Researchers have developed a potential diagnostic tool for schizophrenia by observing how patients process conflicting information. By analyzing neural activity between the cortex and thalamus, they found distinct patterns that make schizophrenia patients more sensitive to uncertainty.

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·October 23, 2024·5 min read

How Social Learning Guides Decisions When Preferences Differ

A new study shows that humans use social information to guide their decisions, even when others’ preferences differ from their own. Researchers found that people treat social cues as helpful but less reliable than their personal experiences, using them as a tool to explore decision options.

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Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·October 22, 2024·5 min read

How AI is Reshaping Human Thought and Decision-Making

A new study introduces "System 0," a cognitive framework where artificial intelligence (AI) enhances human thinking by processing vast data, complementing our natural intuition (System 1) and analytical thinking (System 2). However, this external thinking system poses risks, such as over-reliance on AI and a potential loss of cognitive autonomy.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·October 3, 2024·5 min read

How Previous Food Choices Influence Future Decisions

Research shows that when rating food for appeal or calorie content, judgments are influenced by the food choices we’ve made just before. This effect, known as serial dependence, causes people to rate the next food similarly to the previous one, whether it’s more appealing or less.

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·September 27, 2024·5 min read

Unexpected Sounds Boost Dopamine, Leading to Riskier Decisions

A new study shows that unexpected sounds can cause dopamine bursts in the brain, which may lead to riskier decision-making. Researchers found that participants were 4% more likely to choose risky options after hearing a surprising tone. These findings highlight how unrelated sensory events, like sounds, can influence choices, shedding light on the role dopamine plays in decision-making.

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·September 24, 2024·5 min read

Parkinson’s Drug Linked to Impaired Decision-Making

Pramipexole, a Parkinson’s disease (PD) drug, impairs decision-making by hyperactivating the brain’s external globus pallidus (GPe) region. This research uncovers how the medication, while effective for PD symptoms, can lead to risky behaviors like gambling.

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·September 23, 2024·6 min read

“Sleeping on It” Helps With Rational Decision Making

A new study reveals that while snap judgments heavily influence decisions made immediately, "sleeping on it" helps people make more rational choices. Researchers found that participants who made instant decisions about valuable items overestimated their worth based on first impressions.

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·July 16, 2024·4 min read

People Prefer AI in Fairness-Related Decisions

A new study reveals that over 60% of participants prefer AI over humans for redistributive decisions, despite finding AI decisions less satisfying and fair. Researchers conducted an online experiment with over 200 participants from the UK and Germany.

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·July 15, 2024·5 min read

AI Mimics Human Decision-Making for Better Accuracy

Researchers developed a neural network that mimics human decision-making by incorporating elements of uncertainty and evidence accumulation. This model, trained on handwritten digits, produces more human-like decisions compared to traditional neural networks.

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·June 20, 2024·4 min read

Decision Speed Reveals Hidden Social Preferences

People can infer hidden social preferences by observing how quickly others make decisions. The study used the Dictator Game to show that decision speed, even without knowing the actual choices, can predict preferences. This finding challenges the notion that only choices reveal social preferences. Incorporating response times into predictive models offers a more nuanced understanding of human behavior.

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Featured Neuroscience

·June 7, 2024·4 min read

Brains’ Decision-Making Mechanism Revealed

A new study uncovered neural mechanisms used in planning, revealing an interplay between the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. The study shows how the brain imagines future outcomes to guide decisions. This research sheds light on the cognitive processes behind planning, with potential implications for treating disorders affecting decision-making.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 29, 2024·4 min read

Rethinking Conflict: Emotional Context’s Role in Decision Making

A new study challenges Kurt Lewin's theory on conflict resolution, showing that the difficulty in resolving conflicts depends on the emotional context. Their experiments reveal that avoidance-avoidance conflicts are harder to resolve in positive contexts but are similar to approach-approach conflicts in negative contexts.