scholarly journals Frontopolar theta oscillations link metacognition with prospective decision making

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Soutschek ◽  
Marius Moisa ◽  
Christian C. Ruff ◽  
Philippe N. Tobler
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Theta Oscillations ◽  
Monetary Rewards ◽  
Frontopolar Cortex ◽  
Subjective Value ◽  
Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Future Consequences ◽  
Intertemporal Decisions ◽  
Metacognitive Ability

AbstractProspective decision making considers the future consequences of actions and therefore requires agents to represent their present subjective preferences reliably across time. Here, we test the link of frontopolar theta oscillations to both metacognitive ability and prospective choice behavior. We target these oscillations with transcranial alternating current stimulation while participants make decisions between smaller-sooner and larger-later monetary rewards and rate their choice confidence after each decision. Stimulation designed to enhance frontopolar theta oscillations increases metacognitive accuracy in reports of subjective uncertainty in intertemporal decisions. Moreover, the stimulation also enhances the willingness of participants to restrict their future access to short-term gratification by strengthening the awareness of potential preference reversals. Our results suggest a mechanistic link between frontopolar theta oscillations and metacognitive knowledge about the stability of subjective value representations, providing a potential explanation for why frontopolar cortex also shields prospective decision making against future temptation.

scholarly journals Intertemporal choice reflects value comparison rather than self-control: insights from confidence judgments

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Bulley ◽  
Karolina Maria Lempert ◽  
Colin Conwell ◽  
Muireann Irish
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Intertemporal Choice ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Confidence Judgments ◽  
Adult Participants ◽  
Subjective Value ◽  
The Right ◽  
Intertemporal Decisions ◽  
Intertemporal Choices

Intertemporal decision-making has long been assumed to measure self-control, with prominent theories treating choices of smaller, sooner rewards as failed attempts to override immediate temptation. If this view is correct, people should be more confident in their intertemporal decisions when they “successfully” delay gratification than when they do not. In two pre- registered experiments with built-in replication, adult participants (n=117) made monetary intertemporal choices and rated their confidence in having made the right decisions. Contrary to assumptions of the self-control account, confidence was not higher when participants chose delayed rewards. Rather, participants were more confident in their decisions when possible rewards were further apart in time-discounted subjective value, closer to the present, and larger in magnitude. Demonstrating metacognitive insight, participants were more confident in decisions that better aligned with their independent valuation of possible rewards. Decisions made with less confidence were more prone to changes-of-mind and more susceptible to a patience-enhancing manipulation. Together, our results establish that confidence in intertemporal choice tracks uncertainty in estimating and comparing the value of possible rewards – just as it does in decisions unrelated to self-control. Our findings challenge self- control views and instead cast intertemporal choice as a form of value-based decision-making about future possibilities.

The nature of metacognitive inefficiency in perceptual decision making

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Medha Shekhar ◽  
Dobromir Rahnev
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Mechanistic Model ◽  
Perceptual Decision Making ◽  
Large Dataset ◽  
Substantial Body ◽  
Confidence Levels ◽  
Continuous Scale ◽  
Competing Models ◽  
Metacognitive Ability ◽  
Confidence Ratings

Humans have the metacognitive ability to judge the accuracy of their own decisions via confidence ratings. A substantial body of research has demonstrated that human metacognition is fallible but it remains unclear how metacognitive inefficiency should be incorporated into a mechanistic model of confidence generation. Here we show that, contrary to what is typically assumed, metacognitive inefficiency depends on the level of confidence. We found that, across five different datasets and four different measures of metacognition, metacognitive ability decreased with higher confidence ratings. To understand the nature of this effect, we collected a large dataset of 20 subjects completing 2,800 trials each and providing confidence ratings on a continuous scale. The results demonstrated a robustly nonlinear zROC curve with downward curvature, despite a decades-old assumption of linearity. This pattern of results was reproduced by a new mechanistic model of confidence generation, which assumes the existence of lognormally-distributed metacognitive noise. The model outperformed competing models either lacking metacognitive noise altogether or featuring Gaussian metacognitive noise. Further, the model could generate a measure of metacognitive ability which was independent of confidence levels. These findings establish an empirically-validated model of confidence generation, have significant implications about measures of metacognitive ability, and begin to reveal the underlying nature of metacognitive inefficiency.

scholarly journals Renovation Management Method in Neglected Buildings

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 929
Author(s):  
Beata Nowogońska ◽  
Magdalena Mielczarek
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Technical Condition ◽  
Irreversible Processes ◽  
Management Method ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Motivating Factor ◽  
Decision Making Support

Renovation works to buildings are often not carried out or there are shifts in time, which causes degradation of the building. The article presents an analysis of the consequences of abandoning renovation works. The aim of this article is to present a method of preliminarily planning renovations of a MRUB (Managing Renovation in Un-renovated Buildings). This method of decision-making support is based on the consequences in the case of the omission of renovations. The omission of renovations may lead to a threat to the stability of the building’s structure, threaten the lives of its users, and further damage the building by damaging further elements, or even cause a building disaster. Often, as a result of the abandonment of renovation, usually caused by the lack of the owner, improper manager, or irresponsible owners, these objects are degraded. The consequences of the failure of renovating buildings lead to irreversible processes of destruction. As a result of the research, it was found that it was not only a bad technical condition that was a prerequisite for carrying out the renovation. The consequences of the absence of renovation works, in addition to the technical condition, should be a motivating factor. The problem of the abandonment of renovations is presented using the example of the palace in Drwalewice.

scholarly journals No consistent startle modulation by reward

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Iris Schutte ◽  
Johanna M. P. Baas ◽  
Ivo Heitland ◽  
J. Leon Kenemans
Keyword(s):  
Startle Reflex ◽  
Task Engagement ◽  
Future Experiment ◽  
Reflex Modulation ◽  
Monetary Rewards ◽  
Potential Gain ◽  
Subjective Value ◽  
Experimental Parameters ◽  
Startle Modulation ◽  
Aversive Motivation

AbstractPrevious studies have not clearly demonstrated whether motivational tendencies during reward feedback are mainly characterized by appetitive responses to a gain or mainly by aversive consequences of reward omission. In the current study this issue was addressed employing a passive head or tails game and using the startle reflex as an index of the appetitive-aversive continuum. A second aim of the current study was to use startle-reflex modulation as a means to compare the subjective value of monetary rewards of varying magnitude. Startle responses after receiving feedback that a potential reward was won or not won were compared with a baseline condition without a potential gain. Furthermore, startle responses during anticipation of no versus potential gain were compared. Consistent with previous studies, startle-reflex magnitudes were significantly potentiated when participants anticipated a reward compared to no reward, which may reflect anticipatory arousal. Specifically for the largest reward (20-cents) startle magnitudes were potentiated when a reward was at stake but not won, compared to a neutral baseline without potential gain. In contrast, startle was not inhibited relative to baseline when a reward was won. This suggests that startle modulation during feedback is better characterized in terms of potentiation when missing out on reward rather than in terms of inhibition as a result of winning. However, neither of these effects were replicated in a more targeted second experiment. The discrepancy between these experiments may be due to differences in motivation to obtain rewards or differences in task engagement. From these experiments it may be concluded that the nature of the processing of reward feedback and reward cues is very sensitive to experimental parameters and settings. These studies show how apparently modest changes in these parameters and settings may lead to quite different modulations of appetitive/aversive motivation. A future experiment may shed more light on the question whether startle-reflex modulation after feedback is indeed mainly characterized by the aversive consequences of reward omission for relatively large rewards.

Soviet Defectors

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Riehle
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
National Security ◽  
Privileged Information ◽  
Soviet Government ◽  
Threat Perceptions ◽  
Aggregate Analysis ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Decision Making System ◽  
The Stability

This book identifies 88 Soviet intelligence officers who defected from 1924 to 1954 and provides an aggregate analysis of their information to uncover Soviet strategic priorities and concerns. When intelligence officers defect, they take with them privileged information and often communicate it to the receiving state, and thereby they open a window into a closed national security decision making system. The book provides the most comprehensive list of Soviet intelligence officer defectors compiled to date representing a variety of specializations. Through the information they provided in now-declassified debriefings, documents they brought with them, and post-defection publications and public appearances, this book shows the evolution of Soviet threat perceptions and the development of the "main enemy" concept in the Soviet national security system. It also shows fluctuations in the Soviet recruitment and vetting of personnel for sensitive national security positions, corresponding with fluctuations in the stability of the Soviet government. The shifting motivations of these officers also reveals the pressures that they were experiencing at the time, leading to their choice to break with the Soviet Union.

scholarly journals DEATH ANXIETY AND FINANCIAL DECISION-MAKING IN AGING: A STUDY FROM THE HUMAN CONNECTOME PROJECT AGING (HCP-A)

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S907-S907
Author(s):  
Timothy K Ly ◽  
Mirella Diaz-Santos ◽  
Liam Campbell ◽  
Marcela Caldera ◽  
Taylor Kuhn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Death Anxiety ◽  
Late Life ◽  
Financial Decision Making ◽  
Monetary Rewards ◽  
Delayed Reward ◽  
Human Connectome Project ◽  
Financial Decision ◽  
Delayed Reward Discounting

Abstract While research addressing late-life death anxiety (the fear of death or the dying process) has focused on end-of-life care decision-making, few have studied the effect of late-life death anxiety on financial decision-making. This is particularly relevant to financial decision-making as older adults are more vulnerable to fraud and deception. The aim of this study was to determine how age and death anxiety affect financial decision-making in a sample of older adults of 60-93 years of age (N = 102), who participated in the HCP-A project at UCLA. To study this relationship, we used a delayed reward discounting task to model financial decision-making, where higher rates of discounting indicate a greater preference for immediate, smaller monetary rewards and lower rates of discounting indicate more future-oriented planning. To account for age-related cognitive decline, cognitive functioning was assessed using the NIH Toolbox. We hypothesized that the presence of death anxiety will increase discounting of future rewards in older adults. Results from a univariate ANOVA showed an interaction between age, death anxiety, and delayed reward discounting. Specifically, older adults with self-reported death anxiety showed greater preference for immediate, smaller monetary rewards. By controlling for cognition, these findings suggest that death anxiety moderates decision-making in late-life adults and may add to our understanding of why older adults are more susceptible to financial abuse. These results suggest a need to consider death anxiety as a moderating variable when developing and implementing policies and services that are geared towards older adults.

scholarly journals Neural theta oscillations support semantic memory retrieval

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Marko ◽  
Barbora Cimrová ◽  
Igor Riečanský
Keyword(s):  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Relative Phase ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Theta Oscillations ◽  
Semantic Retrieval ◽  
Theta Band ◽  
Retrieval Performance ◽  
Automatic Retrieval ◽  
Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation ◽  
Oscillatory Brain Activity

AbstractLexical–semantic retrieval emerges through the interactions of distributed prefrontal and perisylvian brain networks. Growing evidence suggests that synchronous theta band neural oscillations might play a role in this process, yet, their functional significance remains elusive. Here, we used transcranial alternating current stimulation to induce exogenous theta oscillations at 6 Hz (θ-tACS) over left prefrontal and posterior perisylvian cortex with a 180° (anti-phase) and 0° (in-phase) relative phase difference while participants performed automatic and controlled retrieval tasks. We demonstrate that θ-tACS significantly modulated the retrieval performance and its effects were both task- and phase-specific: the in-phase tACS impaired controlled retrieval, whereas the anti-phase tACS improved controlled but impaired automatic retrieval. These findings indicate that theta band oscillatory brain activity supports binding of semantically related representations via a phase-dependent modulation of semantic activation or maintenance.

scholarly journals Corticoinsular circuits encode subjective value expectation and violation for effortful goal-directed behavior

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (22) ◽  
pp. E5233-E5242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda R. Arulpragasam ◽  
Jessica A. Cooper ◽  
Makiah R. Nuutinen ◽  
Michael T. Treadway
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Error Signal ◽  
Value Prediction ◽  
Subjective Value ◽  
Effort Discounting ◽  
Trial History ◽  
Goal Directed Behavior

We are presented with choices each day about how to invest our effort to achieve our goals. Critically, these decisions must frequently be made under conditions of incomplete information, where either the effort required or possible reward to be gained is uncertain. Such choices therefore require the development of potential value estimates to guide effortful goal-directed behavior. To date, however, the neural mechanisms for this expectation process are unknown. Here, we used computational fMRI during an effort-based decision-making task where trial-wise information about effort costs and reward magnitudes was presented separately over time, thereby allowing us to model distinct effort/reward computations as choice-relevant information unfolded. We found that ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) encoded expected subjective value. Further, activity in dorsal anterior cingulate (dACC) and anterior insula (aI) reflected both effort discounting as well as a subjective value prediction error signal derived from trial history. While prior studies have identified these regions as being involved in effort-based decision making, these data demonstrate their specific role in the formation and maintenance of subjective value estimates as relevant information becomes available.

scholarly journals To stay or not to stay: The stability of choice perseveration in value-based decision making

2020 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 199-217
Author(s):  
Ulrike Senftleben ◽  
Martin Schoemann ◽  
Matthias Rudolf ◽  
Stefan Scherbaum
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Stimulus Onset Asynchrony ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Cognitive Stability ◽  
Inter Trial Interval ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Onset Asynchrony

In real life, decisions are often naturally embedded in decision sequences. In contrast, in the laboratory, decisions are oftentimes analysed in isolation. Here, we investigated the influence of decision sequences in value-based decision making and whether the stability of such effects can be modulated. In our decision task, participants needed to collect rewards in a virtual two-dimensional world. We presented a series of two reward options that were either quick to collect but were smaller in value or took longer to collect but were larger in value. The subjective value of each option was driven by the options’ value and how quickly they could be reached. We manipulated the subjective values of the options so that one option became gradually less valuable over the course of a sequence, which allowed us to measure choice perseveration (i.e., how long participants stick to this option). In two experiments, we further manipulated the time interval between two trials (inter-trial interval), and the time delay between the onsets of both reward options (stimulus onset asynchrony). We predicted how these manipulations would affect choice perseveration using a computational attractor model. Our results indicate that both the inter-trial interval and the stimulus onset asynchrony modulate choice perseveration as predicted by the model. We discuss how our findings extend to research on cognitive stability and flexibility.

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