scholarly journals Reminders of past choices bias decisions for reward in humans

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron M. Bornstein ◽  
Mel W. Khaw ◽  
Daphna Shohamy ◽  
Nathaniel D. Daw
Keyword(s):  
Neural Activity ◽  
Incremental Learning ◽  
Strong Influence ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Decision Time ◽  
Choice Task ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Sampling Process ◽  
Past Experiences ◽  
Better Than

AbstractWe provide evidence that decisions are made by consulting memories for individual past experiences, and that this process can be biased in favor of past choices using incidental reminders. First, in a standard rewarded choice task, we show that a model that estimates value at decision-time using individual samples of past outcomes fits choices and decision-related neural activity better than a canonical incremental learning model. In a second experiment, we bias this sampling process by incidentally reminding participants of individual past decisions. The next decision after a reminder shows a strong influence of the action taken and value received on the reminded trial. These results provide new empirical support for a decision architecture that relies on samples of individual past choice episodes rather than incrementally averaged rewards in evaluating options, and has suggestive implications for the underlying cognitive and neural mechanisms.

scholarly journals Predictors of Coping With Expectation Violation: An Integrative Review

2021 ◽  
pp. 108926802110241
Author(s):  
Martin Pinquart ◽  
Adrian Rothers ◽  
Mario Gollwitzer ◽  
Zahra Khosrowtaj ◽  
Martin Pietzsch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Support ◽  
Healthy People ◽  
Personality Characteristics ◽  
Integrative Review ◽  
Present Review ◽  
Relative Impact ◽  
Situational Characteristics ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Better Than

The present review investigates factors that predict three processes that lead to persistence versus change of expectations after confrontation with expectation violations, based on the violated expectation (ViolEx) model and related models. We address four groups of predictors: (a) characteristics of the expectation, (b) characteristics of the expectation-violating event(s), (c) broader situational characteristics, and (d) personality characteristics. The bulk of studies conducted in this area looked at expectation change in the direction of the experienced violation (accommodation) as their central dependent variable. The strongest empirical support was found for accommodation being less likely and minimizing of the potential impact of the discrepant information (immunization) being more likely to occur (a) after the reality turns out to be worse rather than better than expected, (b) if disconfirming events are more ambiguous, and (c) if depressed rather than healthy people are confronted with better-than-expected events. Given the high heterogeneity between studies on assessed predictors, we recommend a more comprehensive and unifying approach that tests the relative impact and the interplay of the whole range of predictors across paradigms.

Snap! Recognising Implicit Actions in Static Point-Light Displays

Perception ◽  
10.1068/p6320 ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 613-616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell Reid ◽  
Anna Brooks ◽  
Duncan Blair ◽  
Rick van der Zwan
Keyword(s):  
Biological Motion ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Point Light ◽  
Static Point ◽  
Better Than ◽  
Made In

Johansson (1973 Perception & Psychophysics14 201–211) suggested that point-light displays that are static—so-called ‘snapshots’—contain little or no information about the actor or their action. Here we present data that suggest even naive observers can perceive such information from static point-light arrays. Observers were able, at rates better than chance, to discriminate the directions of facing of sagittally viewed static point-light walkers. The data show also that, without feedback, performances improved with experience. Our data have implications for assumptions made in designing experiments with point-light displays and for models of the neural mechanisms mediating biological motion perceptions.

scholarly journals Neural correlates of beauty retouching to enhance attractiveness of self-depictions in women

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chisa Ota ◽  
Tamami Nakano
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Facial Attractiveness ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Amygdala Activity ◽  
Increased Activity

AbstractBeauty filters, while often employed for retouching photos to appear more attractive on social media, when used in excess cause images to give a distorted impression. The neural mechanisms underlying this change in facial attractiveness according to beauty retouching level remain unknown. The present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging in women as they viewed photos of their own face or unknown faces that had been retouched at three levels: no, mild, and extreme. The activity in the nucleus accumbens (NA) exhibited a positive correlation with facial attractiveness, whereas amygdala activity showed a negative correlation with attractiveness. Even though the participants rated others’ faces as more attractive than their own, the NA showed increased activity only for their mildly retouched own face and the amygdala exhibited greater activation in the others’ faces condition than the own face condition. Moreover, amygdala activity was greater for extremely retouched faces than for unretouched or mildly retouched faces for both conditions. Frontotemporal and cortical midline areas showed greater activation for one’s own than others’ faces, but such self-related activation was absent when extremely retouched. These results suggest that neural activity dynamically switches between the NA and amygdala according to perceived attractiveness of one’s face.

scholarly journals Exploring the role of expectations and stimulus relevance on stimulus-specific neural representations and conscious report

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik L Meijs ◽  
Pim Mostert ◽  
Heleen A Slagter ◽  
Floris P de Lange ◽  
Simon van Gaal
Keyword(s):  
Attentional Blink ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Subjective Experience ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Neural Representations ◽  
Dependent Signal ◽  
Task Irrelevant

Abstract Subjective experience can be influenced by top-down factors, such as expectations and stimulus relevance. Recently, it has been shown that expectations can enhance the likelihood that a stimulus is consciously reported, but the neural mechanisms supporting this enhancement are still unclear. We manipulated stimulus expectations within the attentional blink (AB) paradigm using letters and combined visual psychophysics with magnetoencephalographic (MEG) recordings to investigate whether prior expectations may enhance conscious access by sharpening stimulus-specific neural representations. We further explored how stimulus-specific neural activity patterns are affected by the factors expectation, stimulus relevance and conscious report. First, we show that valid expectations about the identity of an upcoming stimulus increase the likelihood that it is consciously reported. Second, using a series of multivariate decoding analyses, we show that the identity of letters presented in and out of the AB can be reliably decoded from MEG data. Third, we show that early sensory stimulus-specific neural representations are similar for reported and missed target letters in the AB task (active report required) and an oddball task in which the letter was clearly presented but its identity was task-irrelevant. However, later sustained and stable stimulus-specific representations were uniquely observed when target letters were consciously reported (decision-dependent signal). Fourth, we show that global pre-stimulus neural activity biased perceptual decisions for a ‘seen’ response. Fifth and last, no evidence was obtained for the sharpening of sensory representations by top-down expectations. We discuss these findings in light of emerging models of perception and conscious report highlighting the role of expectations and stimulus relevance.

Virtual vs physical platform: organizational capacity and slack, strategic decision and firm performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (12) ◽  
pp. 1983-1995 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hang Lee ◽  
Yung-Chang Hsiao ◽  
Chung-Jen Chen ◽  
Ruey-Shan Guo
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Organizational Capacity ◽  
Strategic Choice ◽  
Retail Industry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Virtual Platform ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Better Than

Purpose This study aims to examine the relationship between organizational capacity, slack resource, platform strategic choice and firm performance. It also tackles the endogenous issues regarding the strategic choice of platform types. Design/methodology/approach This study uses Heckman’s two-stage procedures to examine the relationship between the variables. The sample in this study comes from Compustat annual company and segment files. The sample used in the main analysis consists of 252 individual corporations globally and 3,528 firm-year observations from 2004–2017. Findings The empirical results suggest that: (1) firms are more likely to develop physical platforms than virtual platforms when they possess higher levels of available slack, potential slack, research and development (R&D) capacity and marketing capacity; (2) in general, firms developing physical platforms perform better than firms developing virtual platforms after the endogeneity bias are controlled; and (3) firms that choose to develop physical platforms perform better than if they had chosen to develop virtual platforms. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to the platform research literature by proposing the endogenous role of platform type choice in firm performance in the context of the retail industry. Prior conceptual and theoretical platform studies have seldom focused on the retail industry through a strategic choice perspective. Furthermore, one of the contributions of this study is the derivation of empirical support for the research’s prediction using data from actual firms carried out by global physical and virtual platform companies. This study also presents many opportunities for further explorations on the relationship between firm strategic choice and firm performance in the context of platform retail industry. Practical implications The findings of this study suggest that firms must realize that their performance is not necessarily affected by these platform type choice determinants in terms of potential slack, available slack, R&D capacity and marketing capacity. By contrast, they should pay more attention to developing physical platforms if it is possible. The study findings indicate that although virtual platforms have grown rapidly because of the development of technology, firm performance is at all times superior when firms choose to develop physical platforms. Originality/value Prior platform studies have focused on the topic of network structure, platform architecture, pricing strategy, platform leadership and platform design and governance within the context of video game industry, software industry, hardware industry and telecommunications industry. Seldom of them focus on other industries through a strategic choice perspective. Furthermore, one of the contributions of this study is the derivation of empirical support for the research’s prediction using data from actual firms carried out by global physical and virtual platform companies.

The Somatic Marker Hypothesis and Political Life

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Verweij ◽  
Antonio Damasio
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Iowa Gambling Task ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Somatic Marker ◽  
Affect And Cognition ◽  
Somatic Marker Hypothesis ◽  
Past Experiences ◽  
Marker Hypothesis

The somatic marker hypothesis has not always been fully understood, or properly applied, in political science. The hypothesis was developed to explain the personally and socially harmful decision-making of neurological patients who appeared to have largely intact cognitive skills. It posits that affect (consisting of emotions, feelings, and drives) facilitates and expands cognition, is grounded in states of bodily physiology and on the processing of those states in the entire nervous system, and is shaped by a person’s past experiences in similar situations. Thus far, it has received empirical support from lesion studies, experiments based on the Iowa Gambling Task, and brain imaging studies. The somatic marker hypothesis is not compatible with key assumptions on which various influential political and social approaches are based. It disagrees with the largely cognitive view of decision-making presented in rational choice analysis. Contrary to behavioral public policy, the somatic marker hypothesis emphasizes the extent to which affect and cognition are integrated and mutually enabling. Finally, it differs from poststructuralist frameworks by highlighting the constraints that evolutionarily older bodily and neuronal networks impose on decision-making. Rather, the somatic marker hypothesis implies that political decision-making is socially constructed yet subject to constraints, is often sluggish but also is prone to wholesale, occasional reversals, takes place at both conscious and unconscious levels, and subserves dynamic, sociocultural homeostasis.

The effect of the valence of sponsorship information on consumers’ attitudes toward the sponsor brand

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 603-616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Dick
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Condition ◽  
Experimental Research ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Strong Influence ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Negative Condition ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Practical Recommendations ◽  
Better Than

Purpose To date, research on sponsorship considers the effects of only positive or only negative sponsorship information on consumers’ attitudes toward the sponsor brand. However, in practice, sometimes mixed information (positive and negative) is available that influences consumers’ sponsor evaluations. To mirror the information situation of the real world, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how the valence of sponsorship information (only positive vs mixed vs only negative) and the strength of sponsorship information (weak vs strong) influence the consumers’ attitudes toward the sponsor brand. Design/methodology/approach This research uses an experimental research design (n=210). Data were collected among students of a German university. Findings The results reveal that when the strength of information was weak, attitudes in the mixed information condition were not significantly worse than in the only positive condition and significantly better than in the only negative condition. In addition, when the strength of information was strong, attitudes in the mixed information condition were significantly worse than in the only positive condition and significantly better than in the only negative condition. Practical implications This study offers several practical recommendations regarding the sponsors’ evaluation of their investments and the decision to maintain or exit the sponsorship of a controversial object. Originality/value This study expands the research on the effects of available sponsorship information on consumers’ sponsor evaluation. The present research highlights the effects of different types of sponsorship information on consumers’ attitudes and considers the strength of information as a boundary condition of these effects.

η PRODUCTION IN PROTON-PROTON COLLISIONS AT 72 MeV EXCESS ENERGY

2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (02n03) ◽  
pp. 446-449
Author(s):  
◽  
H. PETTERSSON ◽  
M. BASHKANOV ◽  
D. BOGOSLOWSKY ◽  
H. CALÉN ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Simple Model ◽  
Strong Influence ◽  
Excess Energy ◽  
Exchange Model ◽  
Final States ◽  
Proton Proton ◽  
Proton Collisions ◽  
Boson Exchange ◽  
Proton Proton Collisions ◽  
Better Than

The production of η mesons at an excess energy of 72 MeV has been studied in the reaction pp → pp(η)γγ. It is shown that a simple model with Pp final states included reproduces observed differential distributions better than the same model restricted to Ss , Sd and Ds final states. The strong influence of the Pp states could be taken as an indication of ρ dominance within an one boson exchange model for the excitation of N *(1535).

scholarly journals Do pet dogs ( Canis familiaris ) follow ostensive and non-ostensive human gaze to distant space and to objects?

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (7) ◽  
pp. 170349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Duranton ◽  
Friederike Range ◽  
Zsófia Virányi
Keyword(s):  
Canis Familiaris ◽  
Choice Task ◽  
Chance Level ◽  
Gaze Following ◽  
Food Location ◽  
Object Choice ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
Object Choice Task ◽  
Better Than ◽  
Gaze Cues

Dogs are renowned for being skilful at using human-given communicative cues such as pointing. Results are contradictory, however, when it comes to dogs' following human gaze, probably due to methodological discrepancies. Here we investigated whether dogs follow human gaze to one of two food locations better than into distant space even after comparable pre-training. In Experiments 1 and 2, the gazing direction of dogs was recorded in a gaze-following into distant space and in an object-choice task where no choice was allowed, in order to allow a direct comparison between tasks, varying the ostensive nature of the gazes. We found that dogs only followed repeated ostensive human gaze into distant space, whereas they followed all gaze cues in the object-choice task. Dogs followed human gaze better in the object-choice task than when there was no obvious target to look at. In Experiment 3, dogs were tested in another object-choice task and were allowed to approach a container. Ostensive cues facilitated the dogs’ following gaze with gaze as well as their choices: we found that dogs in the ostensive group chose the indicated container at chance level, whereas they avoided this container in the non-ostensive group. We propose that dogs may perceive the object-choice task as a competition over food and may interpret non-ostensive gaze as an intentional cue that indicates the experimenter's interest in the food location she has looked at. Whether ostensive cues simply mitigate the competitive perception of this situation or they alter how dogs interpret communicative gaze needs further investigation. Our findings also show that following gaze with one's gaze and actually choosing one of the two containers in an object-choice task need to be considered as different variables. The present study clarifies a number of questions related to gaze-following in dogs and adds to a growing body of evidence showing that human ostensive cues can strongly modify dog behaviour.

John Wallis (1616–1703)

1974 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 297-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilinca Constantinescu
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Strong Influence ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Comparative Linguistics ◽  
Articulatory Phonetics ◽  
History Of ◽  
Special Mention ◽  
John Wallis ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Better Than

Summary Three centuries after its publication, John Wallis’ Grammatica Linguae An-glicanae (1653) is still worth the attention of the readers interested in the study of English. Considered within the context of its day, it appears as a significant contribution to the field, and indeed a work which constitutes a landmark in the history of the study of English. Its author, a remarkable mathematician looked upon as one of the most important precursors of Newton, succeeded in handling facts of the English language (both phonetics and grammar) better than any of his predecessors. His work, which illustrates the empirical approach, is important through the degree of independence attained in it from the Latin model which, at that time, still exerted a strong influence on attempts at describing the European vernaculars. In the advent of comparative linguistics in the 19th century Wallis’ grammar fell into disgrace. Even in our time scholars often repeat, with little justification, earlier criticisms of Grammatica Linguae Anglicanae – thus suggesting that Wallis’ contribution to the study of English has not always been examined in terms of the advances it represented when it was first published more than three centuries ago. When mapping out the development of linguistics in a historiography of our discipline there are two aspects in which Wallis’ grammar of English deserves special mention: when tracing the evolution of articulatory phonetics and when examining the roots of modern structural descriptivism.

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