Decision Making

Invincible · #1 Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Decision Making
The psychology behind making the right call

Probably, you've had the experience of being with a group of people trying to figure out where to go to eat, what movie to see, or what time to meet. "What do you want to do?" "I don't know. What do you want to do?"

Some people just aren't good at making decisions. Other people can snap to a judgement with almost no information at all. But why? What is it in our minds that helps us choose between conflicting options? Why do some people make decisions more easily than others - and why do some people seem to make better decisions?

One cause for differences in decision making may lie just above your eyes, in a brain structure called the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. In an experiment studying a group of people with damage to that specific area in the brain, a team of psychologists based at the University of Iowa discovered that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex may aid decision making by providing access to a storehouse of emotionally-tinged memories.

The study involved asking two groups of people - ones with damage to that area in the brain and ones without - to play a gambling game. The researchers gave the participants a stack of play money and two decks of cards. In each deck, cards either awarded players more money or told them to pay up. One deck, however, was more risky, containing bigger payoffs and bigger costs - costs that eventually made choosing cards from that deck a losing proposition. Players were asked to choose cards from either deck to try to maximize their winnings.

People with undamaged brains gradually started to play more from the less risky deck, and showed emotional stress whenever they took cards from the risky deck - even though they couldn't say why. People with damage to the prefrontal ventromedial cortex (damage that can occur through car accidents, falls, or other blows to the front of the head) were less likely to pick up on the rigged decks. They continued to bet from either deck, making bad decisions, and showed no emotional response as they played. From this, the researchers concluded that emotions and decision making are somehow linked - and that this part of the brain is somehow responsible.

Much about the decision making process is still unclear, however. Other researchers are trying to map out the specific thought processes involved. Still others are trying to find ways to apply what they learn of human decision making to computers, hoping to develop more responsive, adaptive programs. Decide to listen to SciFri this week, and you'll hear guest host Joanne Silberner take a look at the science behind how we make hard choices.

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