Forming Beliefs: Why Valence Matters

Sharot, Tali; Garrett, Neil

doi:10.1016/j.tics.2015.11.002

Cited by 262 publications

(285 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…These results were in line with previous findings that optimistic updating could not be interpreted purely on the basis of selective attention, cognitive, or mnemonic abilities in processing desirable and undesirable feedback (19,20,45), but relied on a learning process involving asymmetric information integration (20,41). It has been proposed that the uncertainty in prior knowledge relative to that of new data determines how posterior beliefs are formed (47).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…It has been proposed that the uncertainty in prior knowledge relative to that of new data determines how posterior beliefs are formed (47). The more ambiguous and open to interpretation information is, the stronger the optimistic updating appears to be (41). Consistent with this proposition, we showed that the OT effect on optimistic updating was mediated by the effect of OT on confidence updating upon desirable feedback, suggesting a potential mechanism underlying OT-facilitated optimistic updating.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

“…These two consecutive processes intertwine with each other and share neural underpinnings to guide decisionmaking (39,40). Optimistic belief updating is often observed in situations incorporating uncertainty (21,41), and low confidence is more likely to be associated with subsequent decision changes (40). Thus, we further investigated OT effects on participants' confidence in their first-order estimates in an independent study 3 (SI Appendix, Fig.…”

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

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Distinct oxytocin effects on belief updating in response to desirable and undesirable feedback

Wang

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Humans update their beliefs upon feedback and, accordingly, modify their behaviors to adapt to the complex, changing social environment. However, people tend to incorporate desirable (better than expected) feedback into their beliefs but to discount undesirable (worse than expected) feedback. Such optimistic updating has evolved as an advantageous mechanism for social adaptation. Here, we examine the role of oxytocin (OT)-an evolutionary ancient neuropeptide pivotal for social adaptation-in belief updating upon desirable and undesirable feedback in three studies (n = 320). Using a double-blind, placebo-controlled between-subjects design, we show that intranasally administered OT (IN-OT) augments optimistic belief updating by facilitating updates of desirable feedback but impairing updates of undesirable feedback. The IN-OT-induced impairment in belief updating upon undesirable feedback is more salient in individuals with high, rather than with low, depression or anxiety traits. IN-OT selectively enhances learning rate (the strength of association between estimation error and subsequent update) of desirable feedback. IN-OT also increases participants' confidence in their estimates after receiving desirable but not undesirable feedback, and the OT effect on confidence updating upon desirable feedback mediates the effect of IN-OT on optimistic belief updating. Our findings reveal distinct functional roles of OT in updating the first-order estimation and second-order confidence judgment in response to desirable and undesirable feedback, suggesting a molecular substrate for optimistic belief updating.oxytocin | social adaptation | confidence | belief updating | optimism

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Distinct oxytocin effects on belief updating in response to desirable and undesirable feedback

Wang

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Alloy and Abrahamson (1979) and Korn et al (2014) find that most psychologically "healthy" people display some degree of overoptimism and biased updating, while it is primarily depressed subjects who seem to be more objective. People thus find themselves motivated (often unconsciously) to achieve "positive" beliefs, and this typically occurs through a fundamental asymmetry in the process by which beliefs are revised in the face of new evidence: individuals update suitably when facing good news, but fail to properly account for bad news (Eil and Rao 2011;Möbius, Niederle, Niehaus, and Rosenblat 2011;Sharot and Garrett et al 2016).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mindful Economics: The Production, Consumption, and Value of Beliefs

Bénabou

Tirole

2016

Journal of Economic Perspectives

573

257

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In this paper, we provide a perspective into the main ideas and findings emerging from the growing literature on motivated beliefs and reasoning. This perspective emphasizes that beliefs often fulfill important psychological and functional needs of the individual. Economically relevant examples include confidence in ones' abilities, moral self-esteem, hope and anxiety reduction, social identity, political ideology, and religious faith. People thus hold certain beliefs in part because they attach value to them, as a result of some (usually implicit) tradeoff between accuracy and desirability. In a sense, we propose to treat beliefs as regular economic goods and assets—which people consume, invest in, reap returns from, and produce, using the informational inputs they receive or have access to. Such beliefs will be resistant to many forms of evidence, with individuals displaying non-Bayesian behaviors such as not wanting to know, wishful thinking, and reality denial.

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“…Perceptual biases mark all people, regardless of racial background, gender or other differentiating characteristics (Sharot & Garrett, 2016).…”

Section: Hadar-shoval H Morag Psychologymentioning

confidence: 99%

One Big Happy Family Perceptions of Inter-Group Relations between Jewish and Arab Nursing Students within and Outside a Natural Joint Environment

Hadar-Shoval¹,

Morag²

2017

PSYCH

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The study focuses on perceptions of inter-group relations among Jewish and Arab nursing students in Israel. The study aimed at discovering whether these perceptions were affected by the environment in which they were examined. The results show that environment has an impact on perceptions of intergroup relations. In a natural environment where cooperation between individuals from different social groups is necessary, the relations were perceived as harmonious. On the other hand, in an environment that emphasizes the unique identity of each group, the relations were perceived as conflictual. These findings can be explained as reflecting the one big happy family perceptual bias. This bias may provide a basis for understanding inter-group conflict intervention processes among groups in conflict that operate together. The findings have professional implications for intervention processes implemented among heterogeneous multicultural teams in conflict situations.

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Forming Beliefs: Why Valence Matters

Cited by 262 publications

References 81 publications

Distinct oxytocin effects on belief updating in response to desirable and undesirable feedback

Distinct oxytocin effects on belief updating in response to desirable and undesirable feedback

Mindful Economics: The Production, Consumption, and Value of Beliefs

One Big Happy Family Perceptions of Inter-Group Relations between Jewish and Arab Nursing Students within and Outside a Natural Joint Environment

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