Neural mechanisms of dissonance: An fMRI investigation of choice justification

Kitayama, Shinobu; Chua, Hannah Faye; Tompson, Steven H.; Han, Shihui

doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.11.034

Cited by 78 publications

(95 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Two additional findings lend support to the possibility that choice anxiety ratings and dACC activation are both associated with the evaluation of potential response demands. First, consistent with previous findings implicating dACC in signaling conflict between potential responses/choices (23,(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)40), dACC tracked choice conflict in the current study: activity was greater for high-high than low-high choices (trials that differed in conflict but guaranteed equally rewarding outcomes), in a region overlapping the one that tracked choice anxiety (Fig. 4A).…”

Section: Dorsal Acc Tracked Anxiety and Choice Conflict And Predicts supporting

confidence: 91%

“…In the case of win-win choices, the cost that the decisionmaker must incur is not specific to one of the options but to conflict between all of the options. This and other forms of response conflict have been consistently associated with increased activity in the dACC (21,(25)(26)(27)(28)30). Conflict is also known to generate anxiety-like states (39,50) and has been considered by some to be a central feature of clinical anxiety (51).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Dorsal regions of the striatum and mPFC associate possible actions (including "internal actions": i.e., control signals) with their expected outcomes and modify these actions according to current demands (13,14,16,(21)(22)(23)(24). One of the most well-studied demands encoded by the dorsal mPFC is response conflict (21,25), including instances of choice conflict similar to those described at the outset (26)(27)(28)(29)(30). Whether dorsal mPFC activity correlates with the anxiety elicited by choice conflict and/or predicts future adjustments to prior choices remains an open question.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Neural correlates of dueling affective reactions to win–win choices

Shenhav

Buckner

2014

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

118

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Win-win choices cause anxiety, often more so than decisions lacking the opportunity for a highly desired outcome. These anxious feelings can paradoxically co-occur with positive feelings, raising important implications for individual decision styles and general well-being. Across three studies, people chose between products that varied in personal value. Participants reported feeling most positive and most anxious when choosing between similarly highvalued products. Behavioral and neural results suggested that this paradoxical experience resulted from parallel evaluations of the expected outcome (inducing positive affect) versus the cost of choosing a response (inducing anxiety). Positive feelings were reduced when there was no high-value option, and anxiety was reduced when only one option was highly valued. Dissociable regions within the striatum and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) tracked these dueling affective reactions during choice. Ventral regions, associated with stimulus valuation, tracked positive feelings and the value of the best item. Dorsal regions, associated with response valuation, tracked anxiety. In addition to tracking anxiety, the dorsal mPFC was associated with conflict during the current choice, and activity levels across individual items predicted whether that choice would later be reversed during an unexpected reevaluation phase. By revealing how win-win decisions elicit responses in dissociable brain systems, these results help resolve the paradox of win-win choices. They also provide insight into behaviors that are associated with these two forms of affect, such as why we are pulled toward good options but may still decide to delay or avoid choosing among them.I n a famous thought experiment, a hungry donkey is placed exactly between two equal bales of hay and, unable to decide which to approach, starves. Human decision makers face problems similar to the metaphorical donkey. Whether deciding between schools to attend or desserts to order, choices involving equally good outcomes ("win-win" choices) can generate anxiety along with the positive feelings one has about the rewarding prospects (1). Although the positive feelings may lead individuals to prefer having more good options, the anxiety can lead them to delay choosing, choose suboptimally, or make no choice at all (2-5). These seemingly contradictory preferences, particularly in situations where a "wrong" choice has negligible costs, represent a paradox for many decision scientists (6). The potential impact of negative choice experiences on important medical and financial decisions (7, 8) and on general well-being (6, 9, 10) gives the paradox far-reaching consequences. However, despite substantial research on the impact of choice conflict on behavior (2,5,7,8) and postchoice feelings (1, 9, 11), little is known about the basis of the dueling affective reactions to the choice itself.One possibility is that positive and anxious feelings to win-win choices are tied to separate components of the neural circuitry for decision maki...

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Section: Dorsal Acc Tracked Anxiety and Choice Conflict And Predicts supporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Neural correlates of dueling affective reactions to win–win choices

Shenhav

Buckner

2014

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

118

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“…It was only when researchers began to zero in on BIS-specific anxious arousal as indexed by "dissonance thermometer" adjectives like "bothered," "uneasy," and "uncomfortable" that the consciously reportable affective consequences became clear (Elliot & Devine, 1994;Harmon-Jones, 2000). At the neural level, cognitive dissonance threats activate the ACC component of the BIS (Kitayama, Chua, Tompson, & Han, 2013;Van Veen, Krug, Schooler, & Carter, 2009). Perceiving inconsistencies when interacting with stereotypeinconsistent individuals can also produce aversive arousal, as assessed with impedance cardiography (Mendes, Blascovich, Hunter, Lickel, & Jost, 2007;Townsend, Major, Sawyer, & Mendes, 2010).…”

Section: Evidence For Bis Activation After Threatsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Threat and Defense

Jonas¹,

McGregor²,

Klackl³

et al. 2014

Advances in Experimental Social Psychology

353

272

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“…On a neural level, the BIS is closely linked with the anterior cingulate cortex ( ACC ; Amodio, Master, Yee, & Taylor, 2008 ), a brain region that is activated by confl ict, errors, and distress (Corr, 2011 ). Accordingly, heightened ACC activity was found after cognitive dissonance (Kitayama, Chua, Tompson, & Han, 2013 ) as well as after threats to participants' need for belonging (Eisenberger, Lieberman, & Williams, 2003 ), and perception of control. For example, in a study by Salomons, Johnstone, Backonja, and Davidson ( 2004 ), the ACC responded more strongly to uncontrollable than to controllable pain .…”

Section: Evidence That Identity Threat Causes Anxious Uncertaintymentioning

confidence: 99%

Between the Lines of Us and Them: Identity Threat, Anxious Uncertainty, and Reactive In-Group Affirmation: How Can Antisocial Outcomes be Prevented?

Lueders

Jonas

Fritsche

et al. 2016

Peace Psychology Book Series

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Currently more than 60 million people have been driven from their home countries by war and persecution to seek peace and protection elsewhere (UNHCR, 2015 ). Those who survive the often arduous fl ight through deserts and overseas on their way to safety usually fi nd themselves confronted with not only uncertainty about their future, but also mistrust and rejection by local citizens. As a consequence, many withdraw into fringe groups of people who share the same fate. On the other side, citizens in wealthier countries see themselves confronted with rapid and unpredictable changes in their environment and many of them fear they will forfeit their wealth, safety, and traditions by the infl ux of incoming refugees. The growing popularity of radical rightwing parties and movements in many European countries provides painful evidence that a state of such heightened anxiety and uncertainty creates a perfect breeding ground for ethnocentric thinking and antisocial behaviour . However, at the same time, many people feel the urge to donate money and clothes to refugees, and volunteer to help them cope with language and administrative barriers.This chapter is intended to shed light on how people cope with threats that cause them to question their assumptions about themselves or their familiar environment. We focus on people's need for epistemic equilibrium, self-esteem, belonging, and control as underlying identity motives. According to the anxiety-to-approach model of threat and defence , violations of these needs trigger neural processes sensitive to goal confl ict and potential dangers that catalyse an aversive state of anxious uncertainty . As a consequence, people automatically engage in

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Neural mechanisms of dissonance: An fMRI investigation of choice justification

Cited by 78 publications

References 35 publications

Neural correlates of dueling affective reactions to win–win choices

Neural correlates of dueling affective reactions to win–win choices

Threat and Defense

Between the Lines of Us and Them: Identity Threat, Anxious Uncertainty, and Reactive In-Group Affirmation: How Can Antisocial Outcomes be Prevented?

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